Tear Drop Memories
by Fox and Cat production
Summary: A different perspective in the Bleach Universe. A young woman tries to make herself recognized and appreciated by all her peers in the Soul Society. However, she just can't seem to remember her childhood. As she gains friends and respect from her captain, dark secrets uncover and turn our little heroin. GinxOC and hinted ToshiroxOC
1. Give Yourself Credit

_"Just sit still. It'll sting"  
"Like always?"  
"Yes."_

A white haired young woman jolted from her bed, panting heavily as she felt sweat dripping down her forehead. She looked around her room, the messy place with papers and clothes strewn around as if it was a child's room, before settling on looking outside. She lifted a shirt from the ground and wiped herself dry from all the sweat. "They're happening again..." She sounded genuinely afraid as she tossed the shirt away. These terrible dreams have been plaguing her for a while. She couldn't tell exactly when, but she knew it was recently. It was always in such a dark place, blue screens all around, and she was always strapped down to some bed. She always woke up before the needle could be stuck into her, though. She wanted them to stop, but they just wouldn't. Tears welled up in her eyes as she held herself for the rest of the night.

When morning came, the girl washed herself with a washcloth so no one would notice the sweat stains on her. She dressed in her usual Shinigami garb and walked out of the messy room. There was a sign on the door she tacked on herself. It read: 'Kuromi's Room' with a little fox drawn in the corner of it. She walked out to her captains office, awaiting orders. "You're up this early?" A short, white haired boy looked up from his paperwork at the equally short girl. She smiled a bit and nodded. "The sun hit my eyes. I couldn't back to sleep." "Your bed isn't in the line of the sun, Kuromi." He seemed annoyed as she flinched. "Fine. I was eager to get up! You know how it is." She smiled happily as her tail wagged slightly. It showed that she wasn't telling the truth, but the boy wasn't going to press further. "I'm setting you up with a mission. You and Suiren will be going to the world of the living, scoping out a few towns. Understood?" Kuromi's fox like ears perked slightly at the mention of the silver haired girl. She wasn't too familiar with the girl, to be honest. She wondered how good she was at fighting. The girl bowed with a smile. "Sure thing, Toshi-taichou." "Don't call me that! Suiren, get in here!" He ordered and as if by command, the girl walked in with a wide smile on her face.

She was a few inches taller than Toshiro and Kuromi were, but her size was nothing to really laugh at in any case. She was very good at what she did and didn't screw up very much, like the other girl did. "Kuromi, right? I'm Suiren. Relatively new here. Please treat me well." She outstretched her hand for a handshake and that got Kuromi a little confused. She was so used to the traditional Japanese greeting. She took her hand though, and smiled a little confused. "Come on, lets go." She tugged her long, making her nearly trip a few times. "A-Ah, Suiren-san, please slow! I can't keep up!" She tried correcting herself, but it didn't seem to work all the time. "You can't? Why not? I thought you ran all the time." "W-Well yes, but not on the days I need to work." She rarely worked, anyway, thanks to Rangiku's influence on her. But that didn't matter! She felt like she was going to fall before they got to the gate!

Suiren seemed to giggle and just pick up speed. "Slow down!" She started running now as they eventually ran into the white light of the gates leading to the world of the living. Once there, Kuromi panted again, working up a sweat she had spent all night trying to get rid of. "Not so bad, right?" The silver haired woman looked down at her with a wide grin. "You act just like Gin-taichou...except the running." She nodded before stretching a bit to get herself ready for anything else the girl may or may not do. The girl laughed before looking around. "I don't sense any hollows around here. Is Toshiro-Taichou sure that everything is not okay?" Kuromi straightened herself up and let her ears rotate on her head. They were long yet almost slender fox ears covered in white fur. They sat atop her head, giving her perfect hearing of the surrounding area. Suiren raised a brow as she stared at the weird act. "What are you doing?" "Sensing Hollows. My ears can do so much amazing things." She told her with pride in her voice. Her left ear twitched before she looking in the direct. "I sense something over there. Come on." She flash stepped her way over to the area, sometimes over shooting herself while other times going somewhere she shouldn't. Suiren had to wonder if she really was qualified for something like this before following after the fox eared girl.

Kuromi led the girl ahead towards a building, looking down below it to see if she could see something. Her ears were ringing so much by now. There had to be something. "It's here, I swear it is." "Maybe it's a false alarm?" "My ears never get a false alarm..." She looked around before stepping out of the way as something tried tackling her. She drew her zanpakutou from the sheath and glared down at it. Suiren tilted her head, wanting to see what this girl could do. She was so clumsy with running and her flash step, how the heck could she fight? The hollow looked up at them and roared. It looked almost like a frog. A very large, green monster with webbed hands and feet. It's mask looked like a frog's face nearly grinning with it's front teeth showing. The girl was quick to race towards it and begin to fight it. She's fought plenty of these things before, it wasn't anything new. "This way, this way." She smiled at it as it swiped at her. She kept flash stepping behind it whenever it faced her. It was the one time she got to control it so well. "Which way am I?" She giggled and kept evading it. '_Kuromi! Take care of it!'_ She flinched as her Zanpakutou yelled at her for playing with the hollow instead of killing it by now. She sighed before nodding and sliced at it.

However, it caught it with it's hand, not seeming to be bothered by it. She gulped and smiled a bit. "Oops?" She slashed it's thumb off, letting her get out of the hold. It roared again and chased her. "Lets see...tough skin...lumbering bafoon...has mostly powerful attacks. I just need to get it from behind." She analyzed as she ran from it. Suiren was sure this wouldn't end well and just simply sighed as she watched. Kuromi glanced behind before stopping and flash stepped behind it again. It seemed confused and looked around before screeching as she stabbed it through it's stomach. "Forgive me for a dirty attack like this. But you'll be okay now." She smiled and sliced upward, letting it evaporate right before her eyes.

She sighed lightly but continued to smile at her work. She soon heard clapping and looked over at Suiren. She blinked in surprise, but smiled. "What's that for?" "You amazed me! I didn't think you'd be able to do it." The golden eyes woman told her and walked down to her. "R-Really? You're amazed?" The woman nodded and smiled at her before patting her head. "You did great! Honest!" She grinned. Kuromi's tail began wagging behind her before she started to grin widely like never before. She's never gotten so much praise for killing one hollow before! She loved the attention! Suiren chuckled before tilting her head as she felt another pressure. Kuromi didn't seem to notice. She was so busy relishing in the happiness and praise she had gotten. Her tail continued wagging even as a larger hollow appeared behind her. Suiren's eyes narrowed before flash stepping at the side of it. It screeched before sliding in half and the eventual evaporation of both parts occurred. Kuromi's ears perked a bit and she seemed more nervous now. She looked behind her, seeing how Suiren took such good care of the hollow. "Ahh..." "You need to pay more attention. I didn't think you'd be that surprised by all the praise I gave you. I should be careful with it." She nodded, trying to not get the girl upset by her incompetence to notice the large hollow. She nodded and scratched her head, feeling much more nervous now. "It's all right. It's my fault. Sorry for that." She bowed again, still nervous.

It took them a few hours, but the girls got their work done and walked back to the Soul Society. "So, you were just born with those...?" The golden eyes woman gestured to the others ears and tail. She tilted her head, a little confused, before realizing what she was asking. She smiled and tugged her ears a little. "Well...I think so! I mean...I'm not entirely sure. I've had them for as long as I can remember." She told her honestly as she let her ears go and let them perk up again. "What?" The woman obviously didn't understand what she meant by that. Wouldn't she be able to remember regardless? What about her parents, didn't they say anything? Kuromi tilted her head before sighing with a small smile. "I woke up from a coma...and these were the only things that defined me." She told her simply, not sure why she felt upset just by recalling that so suddenly. It's never happened before, but she was sure it was nothing. Suiren blinked before looking away, finding it suddenly awkward to talk about those things. She was sure it was just a birth defect. Sajin Komamura had a case just like that, however, much more severe than Kuromi's was.

As they walked back to the Tenth squad barracks, Kuromi's ears perked as she noticed a silver haired man walking down the street. She blinked and tilted her head before glancing at her partner. "Ah...You can tell Toshi-taichou everything right? Thanks!" She grinned and ran off to catch up to the man. Suiren blinked, not sure what just happened. "Huh?" She noticed the man, and immediately smirked. It seems that someone was smitten. She giggled mischievously before heading back to the barracks. Suiren walked into the office, still smiling, even though Rangiku, an orange haired, large chested woman, was sitting at the couch and drinking sake so early in the day. "Ah? The new recruit came back~" She announced, smiling at the girl. Toshiro looked up, not seeming happy to only see her there instead of two of them. "Where's Kuromi?" "We did our job, the hollows are gone for now. The little weirdo...I think she's off with someone." She giggled again, but it caught Rangiku's attention more than their captain's. He groaned and ruffled his hair. She was just so damn troublesome sometimes! Why couldn't she behave and come back like a good 12th seat? He muttered and shook his head.

Rangiku walked over to her and smiled, just as mischievously as the young woman was. "Come with me~" She took her hand and walked out of the office with her. Suiren was a little confused, but followed nonetheless. Once they were out of earshot from everyone, the woman turned on her heel and looked down at her. "Well? Who was it? Did you see?" She started asking her, smiling wider with every question. "Huh? Kuromi? I dunno...some creepy guy. He had gray hair. Does she like old guys?" The orange haired woman blinked as she wracked her brain to see who that could be. "Oh my goodness..." "What?" Suiren got more and more confused as the woman's mouth gaped open at realization.

Meanwhile, the little fox girl was hanging around this mysterious silver haired man. She seemed happier just talking to him, and he didn't mind at all that she was there. "Then, she just cuts this hollow in half without a problem! It was amazing!" She outstretched her arms as she talked about her mission with Suiren. She was truly amazed by her strength and capability. "She sounds like quite a woman. But you should give yourself credit, too." He nodded and looked down at her. His eyes always seemed to be shut while he was always grinning. It wasn't a mystery that everyone seemed to be on edge whenever they talked to this person except a select few. No one could ever tell what he was thinking or what emotions he had on at the moment. And quite frankly, he didn't mind that. He didn't want emotions getting the best of him when he didn't want them to. "Huh? But I kept running from it..." "You analyzed the situation, didn't you? You're a strong young woman with smarts. That's rare around here." He continued grinning as he walked down the road with her. She smiled a bit and scratched her ears. "Well...I guess. You're really nice to say those things, Gin-taichou." She nodded and looked up at him. He chuckled and shook his head. "Don't be silly, I'm not that nice." He knew she wouldn't agree, but if she knew his, Aizen's, and Tousen's plans, she would absolutely hate him. He was sure of that.

**He'd keep it a secret until the time came.**


	2. The Silver Trickster

_**Author's Note: Me and Fox decided to give Suiren a little chapter all to herself! Enjoy! -Cat**_

* * *

Suiren walked about the Seireitei, minding her own business as she tried to think of all sorts of things to do to people. She was relatively new here, so not everyone really knew her and she barely knew where to go to have some fun. It was mostly in Shin'o Academy where she loved to torment her classmates. Most of the teachers were too smart for her tricks and always seemed to sidestep them. Especially the calligraphy teacher named Aizen. That bespectacled bastard seemed to always know where she put things and what she was exactly planning. It was annoying to her. So the fifth captain was out in trying to torment.

She hummed to herself as she walked around before spotting a rather depressed looking blond. He had one bang hanging over his right eye and he was carrying quite a bit of books. She smiled widely like a Cheshire cat. He was the perfect target for a prank. So unsuspecting and already distracted. She giggled before sneaking off to go through with her plans. She could tell his squad by looking at the fukutaichou badge on his arm. She snuck her way to the Squad three barracks and looked around for his room. The members were quite willing to point it out, after all, it wasn't many times that this particular boy got a pretty girl as a visitor. Oh, if only they knew her plans. She opened the door to the room and looked around. It was pretty bare to say the least. All she could see were papers with Haikus written all over them. Rather depressing ones, too. How strange. She shrugged it off and began her trick, starting with a complex string system set up at his room's entrance.

The blond man came into the barracks shortly after, hearing some strange snickers and seeing everyone stare at him as he walked down the hall. He blinked, rather confused by all the staring and whispers. "Did Gin-taichou do something again?" He wondered to himself before going to his rooms. He had a bit of paperwork to do and he needed to get it done before he did anything else today. He opened his door, nothing special happened. He tilted his head and took a step inside. He gasped and fixed himself upright from nearly tripping. "What the?" He looked back, seeing a piano wire stretched across his doorway. He sighed, about to blame Gin for this, before yelping as a bucket of lubricant fell on top of his head. "The hell!?" He tossed the bucket off and wiped his eyes clean of the slimy substance. "This is disgusting. Who did this?" He muttered and tried wiping his face clean. His uniform was getting soaked, though, making him sigh again. He walked to his closet, preparing to get a spare uniform. However, as he opened it, an avalanche of pink bouncy balls fell on top of him. A loud scream was heard as he was toppled by them. He muttered as the balls bounced out of his room or stopped on the floor. "Now this is just getting mean...no way Gin-Taichou did this..." He sat up and looked at all the rubber spheres in his room, making him sigh once again.

He soon heard cackling laughter and looked over at his spare closet. "Huh?" He got up and walked over only to open the door, revealing Suiren nearly on the ground laughing about how he fell for such tricks. He frowned in a scolding manner before tugging her out of there by the arm. "Now why did you go and do that? You should know better than to do those things to a fukutaichou!" He scolded her, but she kept grinning up at him. "I'm sorry! But it was too good to pass up! You were a perfect target!" She laughed, but tried to contain herself. He sighed and shook his head. He recognized this girl as a new recruit for the tenth Squad. A recent graduate from Shin'o Academy, but he knew close to nothing about her. He let go of her arm and pulled out a broom. "Get these balls out of here now." "Aw, why do I have to?!" "Because you caused this mess!" He shot back at her and she muttered before beginning to sweep up the pink spheres. He watched her closely as she did it, not leaving her any room to escape the duty.

It took a while, but she got done with it. "There. Happy now, Mr. Depressed?" He put the broom away but rose a brow at her nickname. "Mr. Depressed? My name is Izuru Kira. I'm not depressed." He told her and walked back over. "You're not? But you look it." She nodded and stared at him. He sighed and shook his head. "What's your name? I think your captain should know about this." "Huh? Don't tell him! That's mean." "You're the one who dumped lubricant on me! Don't complain about it being mean!" He scolded once more. "Suiren." She pouted and muttered as she looked away from him. He sighed and shook his head. He could tell she was rather stubborn. Something he was familiar with around here for some reason. He decided to let her off easy, though, and offered her a spot next to him as he filled out some work. Of course, it confused her to no end as to why he would do that. In fact, Izuru was just bored and a little lonely. The girl seemed to be bubbly and fun, so he might as well enjoy it and let her stay a spell.

Suiren glanced around the near empty room rather bored. This guy was really dull it seemed. "So...this is really all you do? Just fill out paperwork?" She asked as she looked at the paper. He nodded and started another. "Gin-Taichou left me with a few papers to fill out. It's weird with him...every time Kuromi gets back from a mission, he always goes out to take a walk. That or he just plain goes out to bother the poor girl. And he ends up giving me all the work to boot." He sighed as he explained how it was here. She tilted her head before smiling. "So he's smitten with her?" He glanced at her and thought about it. "That would be...weird. It's not that he's a bad guy, but...and no offense to her...those ears and tail of hers are just too weird." She giggled, thinking he really didn't seem to understand how love worked. But she let it be and watched him work. "So you write Haikus?" She asked. He nodded, and actually smiled at the question. "Yeah I do. I actually run a class in Shin'o Academy. The students really enjoy it." He looked at her, really interested in the subject. She nodded and smiled. "I see. That's kinda cool, I guess." She nodded, though was being kind enough to lie about it. Haikus didn't seem to interest her at all.

There was a bout of silence for a good time. Suiren was getting far more bored than she'd like to admit. She glanced around before smiling and taking of of the calligraphy brushes. "Hey, you wanna see something cool?" She asked and it seemed to get his attention. "What is it?" He looked at her curiously and stopped writing to give her his full attention. She smiled and held up her finger and placed the brush on the tip. "Watch." She twisted the brush quickly so it would spin on her finger and let go so she could show it off. She didn't even move her hand very much, she just let it spin. Izuru's eyes widened slightly as he watched her. "That's...really cool...how did you learn how to do that?" He asked, wondering when it would stop. "I got really bored back at the Academy, so I spent a lot of my time doing this." She admitted and continued letting it spin. She grabbed another brush and did the same with it as the first. Izuru kept looking very surprised and kept watching.

It was safe to say that Izuru got distracted from his work and instead, the two decided to talk about many other things other than work. Such as showing each other the talents they had. Such as Izuru playing the cat's cradle while Suiren tried to imitate it. He had to teach her a little bit, but they both had fun! That is...until her captain came to get her. "Your squad members said she was here." Toshiro knocked on the door and walked in, seeing the two playing with string. He scowled and folded his arm. "Look, Toshi! We're doing Cat's cradle!" She smiled widely and showed him. "I see that...but you need to go do your own work! Come on. Sorry about the bother, Fukutaichou." He bowed slightly and pulled Suiren up by her arm as she handed the string back. "She wasn't a trouble all, Hitsugaya-Taichou. It as fun." He told him truthfully with a smile before waving as the two left. Suiren wasn't at all that happy, but waved and promised to come by again sometime. It seemed to be the beginning of such a beautiful friendship.


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

_It kept getting darker and darker, the only light was the blue screens of computer monitors. There was a black schematic on one, showing a simplistic design of a girl.  
"Why do you keep putting needles in me?"  
"You'll understand one day. Do you hate it?"  
"Of course I do."_

Kuromi shot up from her bed again, sweating once more from a nightmare she couldn't understand. Why was she having these nightmares in the first place? She couldn't understand them. She panted as she stared down at the blanket. Why was this happening to her? It wasn't fair. She grabbed another shirt and dried her forehead off. Unlike the last time, it completely drenched the fabric. She calmed herself down and got up. She exited her room and walked down the halls, going to go get a cool drink. "What are you doing up?" She flinched and looked back, seeing Suiren rubbing her eyes tiredly. She sighed in relief and smiled a bit. "It's nothing...I just got thirsty." The girl nodded but looked more closer. "You're drenched..." "A-Ah...well, it's hot in my room." She nodded as she gave the excuse and continued walking. The silver haired female followed after, deciding to accompany her in her quest for a drink. Kuromi didn't mind it. Maybe she'd forget about these damn nightmares if she was around.

She poured them a couple of glasses of water and sat down. "Thank you." Suiren yawned but drank the water regardless. The fox eared girl nodded and drank her water down, occasionally looking outside. The moon was still up. It was probably midnight by that time. She sighed, finding that to be rather troublesome. She woke up her comrade just because she had a nightmare, she felt terrible about that. "Now what are you staring at?" She asked, making her look back. "Ah? Oh...nothing, just thinking." She smiled at her and finished the water. Suiren didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but drank her water, anyway. "I'm gonna go take a jog. You go on ahead to sleep." "Didn't you sweat enough?" Kuromi giggled. "I don't sweat that easily." Now that just fueled more flame to Suiren's curiosity. If she didn't sweat that easily, then how come she was drenched? Before she could ask anything, Kuromi already walked out. She sighed and shook it off before heading back to her room to sleep for the rest of the night.

Night went by quickly and soon dawn broke out across the sky. Everyone in the Squad 10 barracks were awake by now and seemed to be going off to do their own work. However, there was an absence of one troublesome little fox girl. "Where's Kuromi now?" Toshiro didn't sound at all that happy knowing his 12th seat was again nowhere to be found. "She isn't back?" Suiren asked as she and Rangiku looked up from the paperwork. "What do you mean?" He looked at her with interest. "She went out on a jog last night. I'm not sure why." She tilted her head and played with a strand of her hair. Rangiku thought a bit and smiled wide. "Maybe she's with Gin again~?" "Again!?" Rangiku nodded with an innocent smile as Toshiro didn't seem all that happy with that statement. He rubbed his forehead and sighed heavily. "Well, go out and find her! I don't care where she is, just bring her back. She has work to do." The woman sighed and shook her head. He couldn't just let the girl have her fun now could he? What a shame. She got up, though, and did as her captain asked.

Kuromi had fallen asleep, funny as it is, up in one of the trees last night. She had ran herself tired just from running around the entire Seireitei twice. Trees were very comfy, anyway. "Now what's she doing up there?" A bespectacled woman looked up at one of the plum blossom trees to see the white haired girl sleeping on a branch. "Kuromi! Wake up!" She yelled at her, sounding like a scornful mother. Her ears twitched before perking up at the sound. "Hm?" She yawned and stretched before looking down at the woman. "Oh, Ise-fukutaichou! Good morning." She waved before yawning again. She rotated herself so she was hanging upside down before she let go altogether and fell to the ground. She landed on her feet, but yawned again. "What were you doing up there?" She asked as she looked at the girl. "Huh? Oh...I took a jog last night and I got tired...so I fell asleep up there~ It was very comfy." She nodded with a wide smile on her face. This girl could be so weird sometimes. She sighed and nodded before escorting her off towards her own barracks. Her captain, Shunsui, didn't need any more distractions from his work.

The girl stretched again as she walked down the open hallways that the entire Seireitei was mostly made up of. Everything here was connected. Be it the courtyards or the mess halls, they had a path leading to them. If you were unfamiliar with these places, you'd definitely get lost. But not everything was completely connected. There were the streets that could be accessed for quiet strolls away from other captains and shinigami and then there was the path leading straight up to the execution grounds. It was all paved and very elegant looking. However, Kuromi never ventured that far. It was off-limits up there and she didn't want to get in trouble. She looked around and sighed a little. There was one person she would have liked to spend a nice relaxing day with other than Gin. Her name was Rukia Kuchiki, a seat for Squad 13. She was so nice and her drawings were absolutely adorable. She liked spending time with her and just enjoyed having fun with her. But she hasn't been back in quite some time ever since she was given a mission to scout out this strange 'Karakura' town. Everyone suspected she was either dead or continuing her mission there. Kuromi hoped for the latter.

Rukia, aside from Rangiku, Gin, Toshiro, and now Suiren, seemed to not mind her ears at all. In fact, she often drew her in those cute little bunny or bear form she often does. It was so nice and refreshing to have someone not be scared or freaked out by them. She could barely remember when only kids found them cool. But that was in the Rokungai, not the Seireitei. As she kept thinking of her, she looked back at the sky, hoping that she would come back soon. She wanted to talk with her again and see more of her drawings.

As if to give her hope, she saw a door to the world of the living open, then close. Three specs stood there, but they quickly went on their way. She blinked as her ears perked up. Could that be...? Before she had a chance to follow, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. "Hm?" She blinked and looked up, seeing Rangiku with her wide smile. "There you are. I was beginning to think you went off somewhere you weren't supposed to." Kuromi smiled and turned to her. "I was just sleeping, that's all. But, someone came back from the human realm! Do you think Rukia came back?" She asked rather eagerly of her comrade. The orange haired woman blinked but sighed with a small smile. "We can only hope. I doubt it was anything. Now come on, Toshiro's throwing a fit because you aren't there helping." She put a hand on her shoulder and started walking her back. Kuromi glanced back at the sky before sighing a little and looking ahead. As they walked, Kuromi couldn't help but notice that they were taking a rather long path back to the barracks. Rangiku smiled at her, noticing how she spotted the different easily. "So, Suiren tells me you're seeing someone~?" She blinked as her ears perked before they folded back and she looked away. "I'm not. Honest." She lied, but knew that she would be able to tell. "A tall, silver haired man?" Her chesire smile grew wider every time she swore she saw a tinge of pink on the smaller's cheeks. "I-It's nothing. I just hang out with him, that's all." She nodded and tried to get rid of the blush. The woman laughed, though, and smiled widely. "Just admit it, you like him~" "I-I don't." She denied and continued to look away as the woman laughed.

Meanwhile, at the tenth barracks, Toshiro was waiting for Rangiku and Kuromi to get back. He had no doubt that they would take the longest time needed to get back. They were such flakes, he swore it. At least Suiren was still here giving him a hand. Which was a bit surprising since he heard about the prank she played on Izuru the other day. He expected her to go off to try another one. But she just stayed there and wrote down what she needed to. He looked back down at his work and filled in another form. "I don't always play pranks." She suddenly said as she filled the pen again. He looked up at her, rather confused by her statement. "You were thinking it, right? Why I'm not going off to find some victim to pull a prank on. I don't always do it. I like sitting down and working, too." She nodded as she looked back at him. He blinked before sighing a bit. "So you can read minds now?" "Well, no. You just had that look." She smiled at him with a small giggle. He rose a brow at her. He looked like he was thinking that? He wasn't sure if he even had an expression on his face. She continued laughing before finishing up her work. "By the way, you're really short. Did you not drink your milk?" She asked as she stood up and went over to him. "What? Of course I did! And I am not that short." He didn't seem pleased by her teasing. He had enough of that from Gin.

"Really? Stand up, let's compare heights." She nodded and stood up straight. He sighed but decided to amuse her. He couldn't tell her to get back to work when she finished it all. "Fine." He stood up and walked over to her. He stood back to back with her before feeling her hand on his head. "Whoa...you're shorter than me." He flinched before growling. "So what!? Not like it matters." He huffed and frowned at her. She giggled as he faced her. "But it's cute! You're so short." She tried to pinch his cheeks, but he slapped her hands away. "Don't touch me." He handed her a stack of papers and huffed again. "Take these, do them." She blinked and titled her head. "But...they're your paperwork." He growled and shoved them in her hands. "Just take them!" He seemed really embarrassed now. He was shorter than a girl not even 5 feet! And she was laughing at him and calling him 'cute'! Not something a proud captain ever wanted to hear. He hated it a lot.

Suiren was going to tease him a bit more, but eventually, Rangiku and Kuromi made their ways back to the barracks and into his office. "We're back~~" Rangiku announced loudly, making the silver haired woman yelp and trip over herself. The papers fluttered to the ground in different spots all over. Kuromi blinked before laughing at the mishap. "I'm sorry..." She gulped but the fox eared girl knelt down and began to pick up the papers. "It's okay. I did the same thing when I was new here." She nodded with a grin in her face. "Really? What happened." Kuromi's ears drooped as she remembered. "Rangiku...scared me...she kinda...uhm...well..." Rangiku laughed at the memory. "I went like this." She reached under the girl's arms and grabbed her breast. Kuromi yelped and dropped the papers she was holding. "YOU PROMISED NEVER TO DO THAT AGAIN!" She yelled and held her chest. Suiren laughed at this, not feeling so bad anymore. Toshiro sighed and watched them goof around instead of pick up the papers. It was amusing to an extent, but he decided to go ahead and finish up with his work while they picked up papers. "You're the one that brought it up~ I couldn't help if I wanted to demonstrate~" She winked and giggled at the white haired girl, who only hissed and blushed in embarrassment.


	4. The War Hath Come

"What do you mean she's going to be executed!?" "It's just as I've said. The Central 46 decided it, not me." Kuromi glared at her captain, who seemed so nonchalant about all this. She had heard that Rukia had finally come back after a lot wait. But then, because of her excursions, she was decided to be executed. Kuromi was sure this wasn't her fault, not at all! But no one was trying to stand up and give her a free trial, not even her own captain. "It's not fair, Toshiro! She needs a fair trial!" "KUROMI!" He slammed his hands on his desk as he stood up and returned her glare. "Do you really think ANY of us wanted her to get executed?! There is NOTHING we can do about it! The Central 46 already decided and she'll be executed in a week. If you have a problem with it, you can get yourself in prison, too!" He scolded and yelled at her thoroughly until her ears folded back in submission. She gripped her fist before growling and storming out of the office.

Her tail flicked every which way as she stormed through the halls, not even lesser seats would approach her to see what was wrong. They've never seen her this livid before. Although, one person did approach her. "Hey, Kuromi? What's up?" The fox eared girl looked at her friend, Suiren, as she carried some books towards Toshiro's office. She blinked once before sighing and looking away. "You know Rukia, right?" She asked at first. The girl thought before nodding. "Yeah, I've seen her around. What about her?" "Do you think it's fair to put her on execution...even if she didn't get a proper trial?" The girl stared at her for a little bit before sighing. "It isn't fair...she should get a trial...But...There's nothing we can do now, Kuromi. They've already decided her fate. I'm sorry." She put a hand on her shoulder, but Kuromi continued walking, her tail still flicking every which way. She had a feeling she would say that. The past few days, Kuromi had noticed the girl becoming more and more attached with Toshiro. As if he were the most perfect person. She was just following his example. She should have known she would have said that.

Kuromi headed outside to get some fresh air and maybe purposely run into Gin to see if he could calm her down from all this annoying crap. No matter any way she looked at this, this situation was unfair. She didn't care now if she wanted to be praised and follow orders like a trained poodle, she wanted what was fair for her friend. She didn't want to stand for this Central 46 crap and just let it happen. She was fed up with all this! Her ears twitched, though, and she looked over at the Rokungai before she could destroy anything near her. Her ears rotated slightly, having heard a crash somewhere. She tilted her head and started over towards the Rokungai. This was new. No one ever crashed anything near here. Heck, nothing crashed period. As she ran towards the sound, she immediately stepped back when she saw the gates coming down. She gulped and immediately went to hide behind a close by building. "What's going on, now?" She wondered and stared at the large white gate. No one had ever brought down the gate before, they simply knew better! She watched curiously to see if her ears could make anything out. She heard muffled talking. She wanted to get closer, but she was too afraid to see what would happen if she did. But, she could hear the guardian, Jidanbo, very clearly. He was a giant, literally. No one ever had gotten passed him, so she was sure that it wasn't anything but a misunderstanding.

She sighed, knowing there was nothing to be had here and went off to find some other fun. However...as she was a few feet from her previous standpoint, she suddenly started to hear wailing. It was no easy mistake to think it was anyone elses but Jidanbo's. His cry always sounded like a siren, even when she was little. She ran back over to see what had happened, but before she got too close, she noticed Gin walking over. She gulped again and hid behind a building. What the heck was going on and who could actually make the giant cry like that? No ordinary Rokungai villager would be able to do anything against him. These must be strong individuals. Her ears perked up in interest as she tried to hear everything she could. The gate's entrance began to open, letting her and Gin see just who these people were. Jidanbo of course, froze in his tracks as he saw the captain. Kuromi could make out a bright orange haired boy and a few others behind him. A girl and two other boys. She tilted her head curiously before noticing Gin starting to strike at them, leaving Jidanbo with only one arm and the orange headed one stepping in front of him. She gulped and ducked her head behind the building and waited for it to be over.

The gate soon crashed closed and Gin shook his head, rather disappointed with these intruders. Then again, he was a captain and they were not even as strong as he was. He looked at the building and grinned. "Kuromi, you can get out from behind there, I'm not going to hurt you." He called for her and she simply gulped again before moving herself out from behind the building. He waved her over so she could follow him back. She nodded and stood by him. "You know...that was really mean to do to Jidanbo. He really did try his best and it was only fair that he let them through. They did win the fight..." She told him as her ears folded. He chuckled and sighed. "A gatekeeper keeps Ryoka out, not let them in. Even if they win, he cannot let them inside the seireitei, you understand?" He looked down at her, but she sighed and nodded slightly. She didn't think it was all that fair, but these ryoka were strange. Why were they here in the first place? She wasn't too sure, but she kept wondering about it. He patted her head and continued walking with her back towards the barracks.

Her ears perked a bit as she was walking with him. "Hey, Gin-taichou...what do you think about Rukia's situation?" She asked curiously. If anything, she was hoping he'd have the same thoughts as her. But she doubted it. It wasn't all the time that anyone ever shared her thoughts. "Rukia-chan? Hm...Well, it most certainly is tragic with what's going on now. We could try doing something..." Her ears perked up as a small smile spread across her face. "But I don't think we should get ourselves hurt for her sake. You know the consequences, Kuromi. Those ryoka will do something about it, anyway." He nodded, still grinning like always. Her ears drooped and she sighed. She wasn't even sure if those ryoka would do anything to help. They were intruders, not captain level fighters. However, he hated to see her look so down about it. He had to think of something quick or she'd be sulking for the rest of the time here. "Why don't you come by for a persimmon? I just finished drying a new batch. You'll be the first to taste." He poked her nose and grinned down at her, seeing a smile come up on her face. She nodded, happy to get such a special treat from him and an attempt to just keep herself from getting too depressed about this all.

Suiren filed some papers in the cabinets as Toshiro filled out some more papers. She glanced at him before looking back at the papers. "Toshiro-Taichou-" "Hitsugaya-Taichou." He corrected her as he filled out a form. "Right...Uhm...Do you really think all this is fair? I mean...Kuromi was really upset." She asked and looked over at him again. He glanced at her before sighing. This was getting troublesome. Now that girl was infecting Suiren's mind with her own version of justice. "It's as fair as it can get. They've already decided about Rukia's fate. We can't do any more, so just forget about what Kuromi said." He told her, trying to keep her from saying anything further on the subject. He didn't need her to go against orders, too. She seemed to be the only one that stayed loyal through anything, minus her days off. He didn't need her to become a flake like the others had. The girl sighed a bit and finished filing away the papers. She would like to believe that this was fair and that everything was going just fine, but how her friend was acting was just unsettling. She was so upset and seemed to hate a lot of this. It was hard for anyone to not notice her feelings on this. Suiren was conflicting, though. She was very loyal to Toshiro already but her friend was so upset and angry about everything.

Toshiro seemed to notice she was having those thoughts and sighed once again. "What do you want me to do about it? I can't do anything, Suiren." He tried to talk to her calmly. All this arguing was getting to him. He was sure this would be getting to a lot more people rather than just him. She looked at him and nodded, knowing that they really couldn't do anything about the situation. Part of her wanted there to be a way, but her logical side knew better. "What should we do about Kuromi, then? She won't be letting this go." "I don't know...she'll calm down if she rests and realizes how silly she's being." He nodded after giving it some thought. Now that he thought of it, Kuromi definitely was a rebellious soul. Always fighting him on something more or less following Rangiku's example rather than his. Maybe that was why he liked Suiren far more than he liked the others.

It couldn't have been a few hours later from when Jidanbo was defeated by those Ryoka. Kuromi was enjoying a warm cup of black tea with a few dried persimmons to munch on while she relaxed herself in Squad Three's barracks. Gin was so kind to her sometimes, it was really a nice change of pace with him. He would normally just tease everyone and make a joke of things, but this time, he really did try to relax the poor girl from worrying too much about those Ryoka and Jidanbo. Even Izuru was surprised by his kind gesture to the girl. He could still remember just how mean he was to her in the Shin'o Academy. Why was he being so nice? "Thanks for all the snacks." He snapped out of it as the girl thanked him for making the tea and for Gin giving her a few of the sweet fruits. He smiled and nodded simply. "It's no problem. Just enjoy yourself." He nodded and went on with work. Gin just grinned and drank his tea.

She drank the rest of her tea, but suddenly, a voice yelled out, "All Taichou and their Fukutaichou, please report to Squad One's meeting hall!" They looked out the door before Kuromi sighed a bit, knowing they'd need to get going. She couldn't hang around a squad's barracks when everyone knew that there was a possible threat going on at the moment. Gin seemed just as disappointed, but no one could really tell with that grin on his face. "I'll head off. Izuru can finish up the work here. Kuromi, I suggest you get back to your barracks now." He nodded and headed out to the Squad One meeting hall. The girl waved as his Fukutaichou simply nodded and went quickly to work. "I wonder what it's all about now." He sighed as he wrote down a few things. She tilted her head before standing up and took one more dried persimmon. "Be careful, all right? Who knows what's going on." He voiced his concerns with a small smile and waved as she left. Kuromi could only imagine what was going on as well.

Kuromi walked back to her barracks like she was told, but on her way, she ran into Suiren again. She blinked before looking down as she walked by. She realized she acted a little brash before and didn't really consider what she was thinking when she asked her opinion on this situation. She felt bad and didn't want her friend to look at her. The silver haired woman looked at her and sighed a bit as she hung her head low. Kuromi could be very set on her ideals, she understood that, but not giving her a chance was a little rude. Either way, she didn't want the girl to be sad and patted her shoulder. "You're forgiven. You're lucky that Toshiro-taichou isn't here, though. He'd give you an ear full." She smiled at her, making the girl look up and tilt her head. She didn't think she'd get such a nice forgiveness from her. Then again, there were a lot of things that she didn't expect from her. She smiled a bit before tearing a piece from the dried fruit and handed it to her. "Hm? What's this?" She asked and looked at the piece. "It's a dried persimmon. It's really good, taste it." She urged her as her tail wagged behind her. Suiren blinked before giggling and decided to humor the girl. She ate the piece and blinked. "Well, this definitely is good. Where'd you get it?" "Gin-taichou gave it to me. He makes a lot of them." She nodded, grinning just by mentioning the man. The girl nodded before smiling.

"Come on, we have work to do. We can't sit around and play all day." The young woman said with a nod before leading Kuromi elsewhere. She blinked before her ears folded. "I don't wanna do work, though. Can't we just stay behind and sleep?" She asked and followed after her. "Toshiro-Taichou said we have to do something. Don't make him more mad than he already is." She scolded her, which was a first for the fox eared girl. They always had fun and did things together. Why now did she decide to be like this? Maybe it was the pressure of having a threat on the seireitei present? She wasn't sure, but it seemed to not sit well with Kuromi. She stopped and frowned all too clearly at her. She turned and looked at her with a disapproving look. "Kuromi, knock it off. You know better. Now come on!" She pointed to the ground next to her but the stubborn shinigami didn't budge. She growled and walked over to her. "I said, come on!" "Why is Toshiro influencing you so much!?" She suddenly burst and clenched her fist. Suiren was a little taken aback by the sudden question before sighing lightly and shaking her head. "Kuromi, you know that I-"

Before Suiren could finish, a loud 'kak kak kak' was heard and everyone in the surrounding area looked up at the sky. Kuromi's ears were the first to pick up on it and she looked at the large ball of light in the sky. Her eyes widened a bit and she stepped closer to the position of the lights. "What are those?" Suiren questioned, but had a feeling it was those Ryoka again. The same ones that tried breaking in before. The fox girl watched carefully before the entity smacked on the barrier, causing it to crack. Her eyes narrowed before she sped off to go confront them. "Kuromi, wait! Get back here!" The silver haired girl tried to stop her, but it was already too late. The fox eared girl was already gone, going to find those lights.

As the girl ran towards the light, a few other shinigami were shoved away. "Hey! You're in a hurry to get to nowhere." One said in a rather annoyed tone but she kept speeding off. "Leave her be, not like those guys'll get past the barrier. It's only cracked." How wrong they were. Kuromi's ears were the first to pick up on the complete shatter of the barrier before others noticed it begin to collapse. Their eyes widened a bit but something didn't seem right. The fox girl stopped and watched the lights stop when the barrier seemed to decide to pull them in via tornado. Before anyone could have guessed, the ryoka spread off in four separate ways. Kuromi's ears perked up and she looked around to see just where she should head to confront one. A plan was setting in her mind. She always had wanted praise and to be recognized, so if she caught one of those ryoka...then no doubt someone would finally notice her besides Suiren! She giggled before letting her ears rotate around to pick out the one with the strongest reiatsu. Her ears twitched a bit before she headed to her left. '_This one...this one for sure! Then everyone will notice me.'_ She grinned to herself as she ran off to confront one of those lights.


	5. I Just Want to be Recognized

Shinigami were running around the Seireitei by now. The Ryoka had successfully infiltrated their society, albeit while being separated, and everyone was up in arms and stationed everywhere they could be just to make sure these intruders were apprehended. No one could let them through unless they really wanted to get on the Captain-Commander's bad side. Everyone had already got word on how Ichimaru Gin screwed up with not killing the Ryoka when he had a chance, so no one wanted to screw up at all. However, all of them had to admit that there was just one who always tried way too hard. All of them just shook their heads as they watched her speed off after one of those lights. If anything, she was probably going to just hurt herself and get killed because of her stupidity. But this is why she was chasing them. She wanted to prove them wrong and watch their mouths hang agape in disbelief when she caught one of those sneaky ryoka. She was very determined to get her hands on one, even if it was the weakest of the five intruders.

Kuromi rounded a corner with ease before her ears perked up. She immediately stopped and took a step back. "Darn...Squad 11 already found them..." Her ears folded back and she turned around. There was no way she'd get involved with those weirdos. They were just battle hungry brutes that didn't seem to like thinking very much. She didn't want to get involved with them, even if that strong ryoka was headed their way. She growled a bit and stomped her foot before turning and running the other way in an attempt to find another ryoka to fight. Suiren was shaking her head as she walked around the Seireitei to see if she could find any of the intruders. Kuromi was so brash sometimes, she didn't know what to do with her. Then again, her ideals were noble, albeit stupid. She just wanted to be recognized was all. The silver haired woman shook her head once more before looking over as she sensed a pair of ryoka landing not too far off. She smirked and headed off in the direction to confront them. The only reason she did this was simply to please Toshiro. The fox was already on his nerves, she might as well make him happy with her obedience.

As Kuromi looked around for any of the ryoka, she could sense that all of them were already in fights right now. They were from different squads, not just the eleventh division. She pouted at this as her tail flicked. Now this was just unfair, she just couldn't get there in time even when she tried her hardest. Her ears rotated around and tried to find the last of the ryoka. She could only sense five of them, but she was very sure there were six. It was obvious this person could hide their reiatsu very well. It mustn't have been their first time here. She hopped onto a roof of one of the maze-like structures and looked around to see if she could find any of them in a close proximity. "The only ones close by are those ones getting attacked by squad 11. Everyone is getting attacked, too." Her ears folded, obviously showing she wasn't all too happy about being left out of the action.

"You know you can get hurt up there if you slip." Kuromi's body froze up as she recognized that voice. She glanced back and gulped a bit, looking down at the 5th division's taichou. "H-Hey, Aizen-taichou." She tried to smile normally, but it came out as nervous or scared. She hopped down from the roof and looked at him. But that didn't really last long, she looked at the ground shortly after. For some reason, something beyond even her memory, she just felt so scared and nervous around Aizen. Sure, he had the sweetest smile and the most understanding aside from 13th division's taichou. But there was just something about him that sent shudders up her spin. And whenever she looked at him and showed this behavior, she swore he was smirking. "You're shaking again. Is it cold for you?" He sounded worried, but she knew better. There was something about this man she couldn't trust. "N-No! Not at all! I just...well..." She looked around as her ears rotated to hear anything she could use to excuse herself. The brunette haired man smiled at her and shook his head. "Those ryoka are causing a trouble, now aren't they? Hopefully, this all quiets down soon. And when it does, why don't you come over for tea with Momo and I?" She gulped and glanced at him. He didn't sound all too concerned about Rukia. In fact, he didn't even mention her, just the intruders. He caught on to her thoughts and smiled. "Don't worry about Rukia. She'll be fine." He reached out to pat her head as a way to comfort her, but she immediately moved away from his hand and her ears folded back. He blinked before smiling and chuckled. "Right, you don't like physical contact very much. Well, at least take this. It'll calm your nerves." He handed her a nicely wrapped tea cake. She blinked and took it, albeit hesitantly. "Be careful. Like I said, those ryoka are dangerous." He warned her and walked away.

Kuromi glanced back at him and gulped slightly before looking at the tea cake. Well, it was definitely a nice thought, and the sweet did smell good. She glanced back, noticing how puffed out her tail was. She tried to straighten it out, but it continued to puff until she forgot about the contact she had with him. Her tail even kept itself straight out as she walked down the path. She took the time to eat her treat, finding it to taste really nice. If she was back at the barracks, she could have enjoyed it with a cup of tea, but for now, she was looking for ryoka. She had no need to go back. The only flaw to this cake was a bitter note in the aftertaste. Sort of like medicine. She'd need to wash that down later. "Now where could they be?" She wondered as she looked around for any sign of those intruders. Though, a sudden pain shot through her head and she immediately held it before kneeling down. "W-What the hell-?!" She started to remember all those blue lights...the same ones in her dreams.


	6. Following Orders

**Cat here! Wow 50+ of you read our story, but none of you left a review! Please take the time to leave a review for us, we would really appreciate it. ~Cat**

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Suiren was following the trail of reiatsu the couple of ryoka left behind them. It was easy to follow, it wasn't every day you sensed a Quincy's reiatsu so clearly. That being said, she was closing in fast. There was a Shinigami already engaging them in battle, but she didn't care, she wanted to nab these two so that Toshiro wouldn't be disappointed or angry with anyone. If anything, he'd probably be proud that she got them or maybe just give her praise before telling her to go back to working on getting the rest. She was doing all of this just to follow those simple orders. It wasn't anything special. She was doing what she was told to, that's all. She heard faint yelling in the distance, making her smirk at her luck. The battle was still going, but the shinigami was already on his last attacks. These guys must be strong. She liked that. She liked challenges just like the other shinigami. But fighting a Quincy? This was amazing! It might be a once in a life time experience.

As she arrived, the large man fell to the ground with a crash. Suiren kept her distance for now. No need to startle the ryoka. She wanted a fight, not an ambush. "Is he dead?" She heard one of them ask, obviously a female. "No. I just took away his reiatsu altogether...he'll probably never be a shinigami ever again." The male ryoka answered, making the silver haired girl think a bit. If he could sever those lines...then she had to be careful with this. She flash stepped her way onto the rooftop, looking down at the now pathetic man. She stepped on his stomach and huffed. "What a useless man...can't use his reiatsu anymore and probably will end up killing himself. How sad." She shook her head before looking at the two. The bespectacled boy was glaring at her, raising his bow in case she attacked. The young woman looked scared but was ready to attack. Suiren laughed and unsheathed her zanpakutou. "So you really do wanna fight? I was planning on you guys coming along quietly." She held her zanpakutou in front of her, readying herself for any attacks.

"Not likely." The Quincy stated and started to fire arrows at her. She waited for the last second to move out of the way. She dodged all those arrows gracefully, not letting one nick her or even hit her. She did a sideways twirl before slashing at him with her sword. He moved back but part of his sleeve was nicked. He scowled at her and launched another few arrows at her. She again dodged them again, almost looking like an elegant dancer in the middle of a waltz. "Koten Zanshun! I reject!" The woman blinked and looked over, seeing the yellow razor flying towards her. It was weak, she could see the thing wasn't doing so well in the first place. She sidestepped the attack and simply grabbed the little thing in the center. "What is this? A fairy?" She wondered as she looked at it. "Let me go!" She growled as she felt the thing cut her and fly back towards the orangette once she let go. She looked at the cut on her hand and growled. This girl was brave to cut her like that. "Looks like you aren't so useless. You had me worried." She smirked at her before keeping her attention on the Quincy. She blinked, though, seeing him charge up a new wave of arrows.

She held up her zanpakutou and got rid of most of them when he fired the arrows, but a few got too close for comfort. She moved to the side a bit and deflected another before flinched as she felt one catch her uniform. It ripped away the side, but she didn't seem to get cut. She glared at him but smiled. "You're getting better at hitting me." "I was always good at it, Shinigami." He sounded like he truly detested her. Their exchange of blows went on. She only cut him a few times while he simply missed. The girl with him tried to help but she was good at dodging these things. Suiren wouldn't let them get a fair hit on her. However, she did screw up. She deflected another arrow, however, the boy shot another, pinning her pant leg to the concrete under her. She glared at him but continued to look confident. She wasn't going to give up so easily. "Try to do that again, Quincy." She taunted him and waited patiently. He shot an arrow, but again, she blocked it. "You can't move very well, so I have you just sitting there. It'll be easy to hit you this time." He observed and shot two arrows. Suiren blocked the first but only managed to deflect the other. Consequently, she deflected it right into her stomach. She coughed back a scream of pain before glaring at him. She wasn't smiling or smirking. She didn't feel different, so nothing was severed. She couldn't let her powers be taken away. Not by a near extinct breed. "Well? Aren't you going to finish me off? You already got my stomach." She panted slightly before raising her zanpakutou. She flicked her finger on the tip of it, sending out a loud ringing sound. The ryoka girl looked around, hearing ruckus behind them. "Uryu we have to go! I think she called reinforcements!" The boy named Uryu seemed to think of whether or not to finish this one off. But by the sounds of things down below, they didn't have much time. "Fine." He grabbed her hand and quickly ran off to find someplace to hide.

When Shinigami finally arrived to help, those two ryoka were gone and so were the arrows that pinned her and stuck in her stomach. Suiren laid down on the ground, panting but keeping pressure on her wound. The last thing she needed was to bleed out in such a place. The division Four members came soon after to take her and the other man to the infirmary. Her wounds weren't serious, but she knew he would be kicked out soon after. He didn't have his reiatsu anymore. He wasn't a Shinigami anymore. Once there, she was patched up and laying in a bed in her own room. She was still conscious, she couldn't get to sleep. She kept thinking about those two ryoka. She could tell they were here to save Rukia. Their eyes said it all. She heard footsteps outside and looked at her door, only to see her captain there. She sat up straight, although it hurt a lot. "What are you doing moving like that? Lay back down!" He ordered her but she refused to budge. He sighed and shook his head while she smiled. "What were you thinking going after them alone? You should have had a squad with you! Now we're out two members..." He muttered, not seeming happy at all. Suiren seemed to be the only one who actually listened to him, but now she was injured and stuck here until she healed! Great, things were just going so swell!

However, the silver haired woman tilted her head. "Two? What do you mean?" He glanced at her before sighing and shaking his head. "Kuromi got herself into something. There were no wounds but she was found unconscious. She's still sleeping now, but I don't like any of this." He told her and folded his arms as he leaned against the wall. All this was going so strangely. Especially at the Taichou's meeting. He frowned a little before looking at Suiren. She seemed concerned for her friend, but there was no way she could go and just get up. Toshiro would have a fit and keep her in the bed. "Listen...whatever you do, do not trust Gin-taichou. In fact...keep an eye out for Kuromi. She's too comfy cozy with that guy." He warned her and pushed himself off the wall. The woman nodded, though was surprised to hear that suddenly. She knew he didn't like him, but telling her not to trust him? That was strange. "Understood..." She had to get to the bottom of this first. He nodded and patted her head before going ahead to walk out. "Get some rest, you need it." He left after saying that. Suiren looked to be in thought, but she wasn't sure what to think entirely. She just had that feeling that maybe something was going on...something deeper than most of them suspected.

But Suiren did keep her end of the bargain. She did rest and sleep for most of the day to let her wound heal. But as night came, she woke up from her slumber. Everything was quiet, no division four members were walking around in a hurry. She glanced around before getting out of her bed and held her stomach. It was still sore and she was sure if she moved too much, the wound would rip open. She moved carefully and walked out of her room, deciding to look for her friend. She must be in here somewhere, even if it was just for her falling unconscious. That was the strange part, though. No wounds or injuries...she just fell. There was something going on and she had to figure out what. She heard rustling though, and looked to her left. The door was shut, but she could hear something going on. She stepped forward and opened the door to look in. She saw Kuromi in her bed, looking awfully troubled. But she was sleeping. The heart monitor was beeping fast, though. Her brainwaves were even giving some startling results. The woman frowned before walking over and looked at her friend. She was having another nightmare. Her ears kept twitching from folded to perked. Her tail must be going wild. "Kuromi...Kuromi get up. You're having a nightmare. Come on, get up." She nudged her gently at first but nothing was changing. Suiren frowned before pulled her ears. "Kuromi, wake up!" The fox girl's eyes snapped open before she sat up straight, panting in a cold sweat. The silver haired woman stepped back, never seeing her this frightened before. What was going on in that dream.

"Kuromi?" She tried to get her to talk, but she just stared at her lap.

**"Papa did this to me..." **


	7. All As Planned

**Oh come on guys! :( You're really upsetting us, please take the time to leave a review we don't mean to whine, but it's discouraging to see you guys not leaving your thoughts on the story. -Cat**

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The night went by quickly. Suiren and Kuromi spent most of it talking about what she had dreamed. Just who that 'Papa' person was. "I...I don't know who he is. But I remember he did this...He did all of this." Kuromi rolled up her sleeve, revealing a trail of track marks on her arms. Suiren blinked in surprise. It wasn't like the marks were sloppy or made by the Division 4 people. They had been there for a while and they seemed to look like they hit a vein each time. It was someone who obviously knew what they were doing. The silver haired girl reached over and touched the scars. They were smooth. It was just the discolored skin that made them apparent. "Well...have you shown anyone else these?" Kuromi shook her head as she rolled her sleeve back down. How could she tell anyone about these? They'd just be as dumbfounded as they were. Her friend started to seem more and more troubled the more they lingered on this subject. She just wanted to know who she was. That's all she wanted, but no. Nothing good was happening and nothing was making any sense. The young woman smiled slightly and tried to calm her down. "Just get some rest. We'll try figuring everything out in the morning, okay?" She patted her head, but noticed there were tears in her eyes. She sighed before getting up, holding her stomach again. "It'll be okay, I promise." She smiled before leaving the room to give her a moment.

As morning came, Kuromi was free to exit the infirmary while Suiren stayed to get her stomach wound healed up. The fox girl was still troubled about last night, but today, she wanted to push it aside until she reported back to Toshiro. However, before she could even get to her barracks, she heard a loud scream. She looked off to the distance before quickly running and flash stepping her way there. As she arrived, she saw a lot of the fukutaichous gathered. She blinked in confusion before looking up. Her eyes widened a bit as she saw the taichou of Division 5 pinned to the wall of a building with his own zanpakutou. She gulped and took a step back, not feeling anything right about this. She heard Momo, Division 5's fukutaichou, crying as she stared at the body. But she didn't care about that. As she took the step back, she bumped into someone. "Watch your step." She looked up to see Gin. Her heart was racing by now but not because she saw him. "G-Gin-taichou...t-there's something not right about this." He rose a brow before smirking. "Well, of course not-" "I don't mean that! It's just..." Before she could even get her worry out, she heard a loud yell. "You did this!" Momo ran towards them, mostly keeping Gin in her sights as she drew her zanpakutou. Kuromi glared before drawing her own to defend the taichou. But before she could, his fukutaichou, Izuru Kira, stepped in front of them and blocked the girl's swipe.

Gin took hold of Kuromi's shoulder and took a step back from the fighting. He didn't say a word, he just watched. "I won't let you hurt Gin-taichou, not for any reason." Kira stated as he stared down at Momo. "Izuru, step aside." "No." The fox girl's ears folded as she watched the conflict unfold. "Momo-fukutaichou, just step down!" She tried to get each of them to calm down, but neither did. Momo was the first to unleash her zanpakutou's shikai. Then they just went onto fighting. Why was this happening? What was going on and why was Momo so sure that Gin had done this? She knew for a fact that he couldn't have done this, he was there visiting her last night.

~Last Night~

_After Suiren had left, Kuromi tried her best to get some rest. She was just so panicked and scared at the moment. There was no way she could possibly rest herself. But she did try. She tried closing her eyes and laying in a comfortable position, but her mind continued to race. She soon heard footsteps, though, expecting Suiren to be coming back. But upon looking at the doorway, she saw Gin standing there. The white haired man shook his head as he looked at the poor girl. "It looks like ya got drenched. Did ya have another nightmare?" He asked as he walked inside. She wondered how he knew exactly. But for now, she was just glad to see him. She sat up in her bed and tried to smile, but she was too scared. "No...I...Something weird happened today...and for some reason, I got a little of my memories back." She admitted to him and stared at her hands. He grinned as he heard that and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Really? Like what? Were you a princess?" He teased with a chuckle, but noticed she wasn't in the mood. "No...I just...I know who made me like this." Now he was interested. "Like what?" He questioned, patting her head gently. She glanced up at him and wiggled her ears to show what she meant. "Papa...made me like this. I know know who papa is but...I just know he did this to me." For the first time in a while, she saw him truly puzzled. Not even he knew who this 'papa' person was. He sighed but smiled either way, continuing on with the pats. "Well, we can agree that he made you a cutie. Not everyone can pull off the ears and tail like you can." He tried to make her feel better by flattering her. It seemed to work so many times before. Maybe it would be no different now. "My ears? Cute? No way. It's weird...I don't like them very much." She sighed as her ears drooped. Now he pouted. He tugged her ears a bit, making her whine and yelp. "Don't try to conflict with me, you know I'm right and that's that!" He smirked at her as she rubbed her ears. "You're such a meanie! You know I hate tugging them." She pouted before smiling a little at him. He tried to cheer her up a lot...she couldn't help but be thankful for that. And once he was sure she was okay, he left her for the rest of the night. _

~Present~  
The white haired taichou continued to keep Kuromi away from the conflict, just to keep her from getting hurt or arrested. As demonstrated now. Toshiro swooped in before Momo's or Kira's zanpakutou could connect with the other's. "Toshiro..." Momo muttered as she stared in disbelief. Why was he protecting the murderer's fukutaichou? He must know, too, right? "Arrest them. Both of them." The young taichou ordered, letting the other fukutaichous restrain them. "I'm reporting this to the Head Captain! Take them away!" He ordered and the fukutaichou did as he ordered. Kuromi stayed by Gin, though, not really wanting to leave his side in case someone else tried to attack him. Her ears folded, though, as she looked at the ground when her taichou was there alone. "I'm sorry my subordinate made trouble for you, taichou." Gin apologized, still having a grin on his face. But Toshiro just stayed silent for a while. "Ichimaru..." Both of them looked up and a little surprised by his cold voice. "Just now...you tried to kill Momo, didn't you?" Kuromi flinched before glaring. "Toshiro-" "What? I don't have a clue of what you're talkin' about." Gin patted her head so she didn't lose her cool. "I'm telling you right now. If you make Momo bleed, I'll kill you." Toshiro glared daggers at him not even caring that he was upsetting Kuromi. "You're scaring me. But you best keep an eye on her. You already had someone special to you have something bad happen to them, right? You wouldn't want that with Momo, now would you?" Her taichou continued to glare at him before looking directly at her. "Kuromi, come on. We're going back." He took a step forward, expecting her to follow suit. But she refused and kept her ground.

"Kuromi!" Her ears folded but she glared back at him. He huffed before flash-stepping towards a different area. Gin let out a sigh and scratched his head. "What a scene that was. So what was that hunch you had?" He asked her once things calmed down. She looked up at him before pulling him along by his hand towards a more quiet area. Once she was sure no one could hear her, she looked at him concerned. "That wasn't Aizen-taichou." He was a little surprised to hear that assumption. How could she tell? That was a perfect looking Aizen! Well, aside from the sword sticking through his chest. "Now what gives you that idea? That looks like Aizen-taichou to me." He asked, still grinning as if nothing was wrong. "Gin...I'm not scared of that one. Even if he was dead...I'd be cowering and trying to get away. With that...I feel like I can just slap it and get away with it. That is not Aizen!" She whispered most of it but sounded very panicked. Just what was going on? None of this made sense!

Though, Gin had to admit...she was catching on quite quickly. She really was smarter than either of them suspected. But he had to keep this plan a secret until the very last second. She couldn't be finding out now. Not too soon. "Kuromi-chan, I think you may just be tired. After all, you got knocked on the head a little hard last night, right? Why don't we go and get some dango and tea? You're stressed from all this so early in the morning." He nodded and led her along down the path. She was a little unsure if he really didn't believe her or not, but maybe he was right. Maybe she was a little too stressed at the moment. A free snack sounded good, too. "Alright...maybe you're right." She smiled a little bit as she followed after him.

By the time afternoon had come, Suiren had heard about Aizen's murder. She hadn't a clue who could have done that, but she wondered if it really mattered. She hadn't know the man for that long. He seemed cool and okay, but she didn't have a real bond with him. From the details she heard, it was a pretty gruesome death. Not only that but his fukutaichou was arrested because she fought the 3rd division's fukutaichou on the spot. She could only hope he got out of it alright...and knowing Kuromi, she probably got in the middle of it to keep things calm. But that wasn't the case at all. She had no way of knowing. She was still confined to the bed for the most part. But her wound was healing better than expected and she hoped to be out by tonight. If not tonight, then she just might have to flip her shit. She hated to be confined to a bed because of a cheap wound like this! As she huffed and stared out the window, she heard a new set of footsteps. She looked over, seeing her taichou in the doorway again. She sat up carefully and sighed a bit. "What is it?" "Just checking if you were okay." He told her as he walked inside.

She rolled her eyes but gave a small smile. "I'm okay, stop babying me." She then got serious. "What happened today?" She was quick to get to the point. Toshiro sighed and shook his head. "Aizen was murdered...Momo lashed out at Ichimaru...and your friend decided to stay by his side. Both of them." He was talking about Kira and Kuromi. Why Kuromi stuck by his side, he'd never know. But he understood why Kira did. Either way, he didn't trust that snake in the grass for anything. "Both? You mean Izuru and Kuromi? Were they both arrested?" She wondered. "Only Kira. Kuromi didn't fight at all...I'm surprised about that one." He sighed a bit as he leaned on the wall. He had to figure out a way to control that girl. She was going to get herself killed if she hung out with the wrong people. But for now...with little peace left, maybe it was good she hung around such a snake like that. She could relax and not have any problems. But that may not be the case at all. He was analyzing all of this quite a bit. He couldn't help it. Suiren happened to noticed before shaking her head. "Knock off your thinking. Kuromi can handle herself very well. Even if she were to be attacked by that guy, she could handle herself. Just give her a chance." He looked at her before huffing. "You haven't known her for as long as I have. She's a clutz. If anything, she'd trip all over herself if she was in a fight with a taichou." He nodded as he glanced out the window. Suiren shook her head. He really needed to stop babying her. She knew the girl's potential and it wasn't weak. But she decided to get off the subject before an argument came along.

"So why did you come by?" "To check up on you. How's your stomach?" He asked as he walked over. She shook her head again and held the wound. "It's fine...it's closing up. But seriously, worry about yourself before you worry over me. I can handle myself, too." Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Says the one who deflected a Quincy arrow right into their abdomen." Suiren blushed in embarrassment before she yelled at him. "Shut up! At least I have confidence in my comrades!" He glared back at her. For those watching, it could be considered a lover's quarrel. Except they weren't really lovers. They just seemed to hate losing to one another or being out embarrassed by one another. "Old hag." "Shorty!" The two continued to glare at each other, trying to find more and more insults for one another.

The two calmed down after a little bit more of their bickering. They only stopped once they noticed 11th Division's taichou spike his reiatsu higher than he had before. No doubt he had found the ryoka he was itching to fight the most. The two looked at each other before Suiren sighed and waved for him to be dismiss. "Get back to the barracks. I'm not going anywhere any time soon. You're still 'Toshi-taichou' so you have paperwork to do." She smirked at him as she called him 'Toshi' again. "That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you!" He yelled, but she was right. He had work to do. He couldn't be watching over her all the time. She was safe here. "Don't wander out, though. Got it?" He ruffled her hair before walking out of the room. She huffed and fixed her hair as she watched him leave. Now the room was empty again. Man, she could wait to get out of here. She wanted to get back and find those ryoka again. Instead of fighting them, she wanted to talk with them. They were good fighters and their determination was just amazing. She wanted to see what else they were good at. Toshiro took a glance back at the room before shaking his head. Maybe he was too concerned. Suiren could handle herself fine. But...he really just wanted to protect her, too. Such strange feelings, he didn't think they were anything at all. Probably just protective over his subordinates, like a good taichou.


	8. The Hidden Truth

Kuromi enjoyed her's and Gin's brunch. The dango was delicious, even the tea was better than most days. Maybe it was all the tension around that made the food taste extra appetizing. Or maybe she was just so anxious she didn't realize how hungry she was. Either way, the food was delicious. Unfortunately, he had work to do and she had to get back to looking for ryoka. They couldn't spend much more time together for the afternoon. Ah well, there were plenty of other times to spend her time with him. She walked her way back to the seireitei and almost immediately her ears started to ring and twitch. She held her head and nearly doubled over from the headache she had gotten. "What the heck!? Don't tell me he's found them now..." She grumbled a bit as she looked off into the sky line of the large town like village. There was only one man strong enough to make her actually cringe and have headaches from the sheer power of his reiatsu. He could make anyone below fukutaichou level pass out or just freeze on the spot.

That man's name was Kenpachi Zaraki. He was the 11th Division's taichou. He only cared about fighting and being the strongest shinigami in all of the seireitei. He didn't even know the name of his zanpakutou, however. He just fought with sheer strength. But from the sounds of things, he was fighting someone just as strong. One of the ryoka, she had a feeling of that was who it was. "I wonder who could be suicidal enough to fight him..." If only she knew that Kenpachi was the one who tracked the ryoka down. She knew it would be bad if she got too close with that much reiatsu being released, but she wanted to see just who was fighting him. So, she started her dash towards the large maze like path towards the sacred Sokyoku hill.

The closer she got, the more her ears rung in pain. She wondered how this ryoka was even moving with such pressure. Maybe he was stronger than any of them really thought. That was rare. A ryoka never was this strong and would have been subdued before any of them could even find them to be a threat. Even if there were six of them in total, there was no way they should have lasted this long. But they were still all on the loose from the last time she checked. This was interesting. She couldn't wait to meet all of them. She got closer and closer until she felt a strong burst of reiatsu. She stumbled and fell over from the amount of it and held her head again. She struggled to stay conscious. She already passed out once, she wasn't going to pass out again. She stayed still, though, and waited for the burst to pass so she could walk straight again. It started to calm down soon after and she got up, dashing once again to get there before any of the officers could get there. She wanted to be the first to see. She wasn't going to be the first to see this strong ryoka, she knew that, but she still wanted to be the first to actually speak with him instead of attack. If he was this determined, she wanted to know why.

By the time she had gotten there, she couldn't feel much of the reiatsu anymore. It would be hard to even give an ounce when you were unconscious on the ground. She stared at Kenpachi, then at the orange haired boy lying on the ground. A short, pink haired girl hopped down and picked up the large man as if he were light as a cat. "He really made Ken-chan happy. I haven't seen him this happy in so long!" She giggled before looking at the boy. "I hope you can play with Ken-chan again soon. He'd really enjoy it~!" She chimed before running off, leaving Kuromi to do with the ryoka as she wanted. She smiled a little bit. Division 11 was always the strange one. She looked around before picking the boy up from under his arms and dragged him towards an alley. Hopefully that would keep the officers from butting in too soon.

Kuromi knelt down in front of the boy and tilted her head. He looked absolutely out of it. He must have done a lot to just give Kenpachi those wounds. She waved her hand in front of his face before slapping him to try to wake him up. She pouted when none of that worked. "Oh come on, you aren't that hurt." She muttered before shaking him a little. "It's going to take a lot more than that to wake him up." Kuromi's ears twitched before she looked around. "Huh?" "Down here." She looked down only to see a black cat. She blinked in confusion before smiling. "A talking kitty? I never seen you before." She tried to pet it, but the cat simply ignored and walked over to the boy. She blinked and just watched. "He's exhausted. No doubt all that reiatsu attracted attention like yours. I need to get him out of here." "But wait! I want to talk with him." Kuromi's ears folded as she looked at the cat. "Listen, girl, this isn't something you need to get yourself involved with. Just sit back and leave him alone." The deep male voice slowly turned into a womanly one as the cat transformed into a woman. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise. She lifted him up easily and started to walk away from the area. "I suggest you get out of here, too. You don't want to be accused of helping a ryoka, right?" She smirked a little at her before disappearing. Kuromi was left dumbfounded by the woman or...cat...or...whatever she was. She didn't recognize her at all and she didn't seem familiar. With all these memories rushing into her head, she was sure that if she did know her, she'd try to stop her.

As night started to stroll on by, the young girl couldn't help but notice all the violence being unleashed in the seireitei. All of a sudden, everyone was fighting someone. And yet, she hasn't fought anyone. Not to say she wasn't jealous of most of the shinigami here, but she really just hoped that no one got too hurt. After seeing how hurt Suiren had gotten and how Momo started to turn on everyone because of Aizen's death, she didn't want this to go on anymore. She knew now that the ryoka were just here for a good cause and yet most of them have been arrested by now. Even poor Hanatoro. He was apart of Division 4 and probably just got mixed up in all the fighting. She didn't know the full stories just yet, but as far as she knew, she didn't want this to go on anymore. Rukia didn't deserve this punishment and she didn't deserve to know how upsetting all of this was for her friends. By the time night had come, Suiren was back in her room, but was resting in her bed. She couldn't move all that much, since her wound was still there even if it was still a little sliver. Even Toshiro had ordered her not to move and just rest. Even he said that things were getting hectic in such a formerly peaceful place.

Kuromi stared out her window of her room and sighed a little bit. She wasn't sure what to do anymore. Now she was getting confused. Rukia was her friend and she needed to be rescued. But she didn't want to go against the Seireitei's wishes and make herself a traitor. She felt so conflicted with everything and everyone. She ruffled her hair before getting up to go find someone to talk to. She needed reassurance right now. Suiren was sleeping and resting, so she couldn't be stressed out either. She went to find Rangiku and Toshiro, but they seemed to have disappeared, too. Her ears folded a bit before she went outside to find someone else she trusted greatly. As she went outside, her ears rung again and twitched from all the reiatsu she felt. She couldn't believe how much fighting even now was going on. She hoped this all ended soon. She walked down the path silently as she waited for anyone to come around. No one did. They must have been busy with all of this already. Paperwork or just plain fighting or being in the infirmary...it all just sucked. She sighed a little before looking up. She blinked, seeing Gin walk just a little ahead of her. She tilted her head and followed after him. She could always talk to him! This shouldn't be at all difficult for her to confess her troubles to him. Although...she was a little curious as to why his left sleeve was torn up.

She followed him, making sure to keep her reiatsu as low as possible so he wouldn't sense her. She had been practicing even long before all this chaos happened, to keep her reiatsu below sensing level. She wanted to at least surprise him one day, even if she got punished for it. She smiled as she rounded the corner before blinking as she saw him enter a hidden room. She tilted her head and crept forward to see what was going on in there. She stayed out of range of the door's view and perked an ear up to hear what was going on.

"Well, everything is goin' as planned. Poor Momo, though. The girl doesn't even know what she's gettin' herself into." She heard Gin speak first. Just who was he talking to? "She's easy to manipulate. It's best if we keep using her, no matter how damaged she gets." She heard a low voice, making her shake and shudder. There was no way...that couldn't be! "How mean if you." Gin smirked at the man and waited for any other plans to be heard out. "The execution has been changed. All we need to do is finish a few things here and pack one more thing." Gin rose a brow and tilted his head. "Oh? What's that?" The man smirked a bit as he thought. "I'll leave you to pack her up. Kuromi's a good toy as well. I've been meaning to get her attention somehow." Gin was a little surprised by this. "Why her? She's a little more than useless, isn't she?" He was good at faking his emotions and keeping his intentions a secret. He was just curious as to why she was involved. As far as he was concerned, he didn't want her involved in this heinous Cout at all. "She was an old experiment of mine. She was supposed to keep a watch over things and alert me if someone found out. But she began to become more...humanly than I wanted. I erased her memories but now she may actually be worth something. The treat I gave her the other day should be bringing back her memories." Aizen smirked at him as he explained what she was to him. A simple failed experiment. Gin couldn't believe how evil this man was. Manipulating the poor girl, erasing the only thing she wants to remember...all for his enjoyment. "How cruel of you to do that. Ah well, I'll get her ready then." His voice made it sound like he wasn't fazed at all. Like he didn't care that she was a simple little plaything to Aizen.

Kuromi took a step back from the door as she listened in. This couldn't be real...there was no way this was real. She knew for a fact Gin wouldn't be apart of something like this. But what hit her the hardest was knowing she was a simple experiment gone wrong. Her eyes welled up with tears as she stared at the door. She took a few more steps back before running away from the area, not letting either of them know she was there, eavesdropping on their plans. The two glanced at the door as they heard the heavy footsteps. Gin frowned but Aizen was more than happy to know she heard. "You better get her quick before things get messed up." He told him before standing and disappearing from his spot. "Yes, Aizen-taichou." Gin, despite the look on his face, felt terrible. He knew for a fact now that talking to the girl was going to be the hardest thing about this plan. He just needed to be careful if she attacked. Not like he couldn't handle her or anything, but he knew what was going to happen.


	9. Persuasion

**~~*Before we begin this chapter, I'd like to ask for reviews. I'm the one who types up the chapters(The Fox) while Kitty(The Cat) gives ideas and positive support as well as makes the fancy artwork and posts this. We would really really appreciate if you guys could review our story. But please don't be too mean. Constructive criticism is very much liked and we would like to improve on anything that needs improving on. Please and thank you~! We hope you enjoy this chapter*~~**

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Morning came more slowly than the night had. Suiren was just sitting in her bed, waiting for the sun to come up. She had a feeling that today was definitely not something she was looking forward to if things were going to go at a snail's pace. She stretched a little before getting up from her bed. Maybe she could at least find something fun to do. She hadn't heard anything about Rukia's execution date being made sooner than expected. So she was off in her own little happy world. She walked to Kuromi's room, the little name sign still hanging from the door. "Kuromi, lets go get some food today-Kuromi?" The woman looked around the room, not seeing the fox girl in there at all. She tilted her head before scratching it. Strange, why would she still be out? As far as she heard, her friend didn't do anything wrong and didn't get arrested for anything. So why wasn't she resting? She walked inside, looking for anything that could point to where she might be. But all there was was clutter on the ground and a few personal notes. Most of them were just words of praise to herself. Telling her not to give up or not to be scared. For some reason, it made her sad to just look at them. They all seemed to try to be a different writing style, obviously trying to convince herself that other people wrote them. Just how lonely was she?

Kuromi was hiding herself away in a nearby alley way. She held her head as she thought about what she heard and whimpered as more memories made themselves clear. She wasn't a test tube baby, she was an actual girl before. No ears. No tail. She was normal. But then Aizen came along...he took her in. She let out a small hic and held her head tighter. That man seemed to always be the reason everyone was at each others throats. Her hands shook a bit as she tried to make sense of all this. Just why they were plotting against everyone and making everyone hate each other. 'What did I tell you about crying?' She heard a voice before looking at her zanpakutou. A few tears slipped down her face before she tried to wipe them away. "I-It makes me look weak...that's what you said." She hicced again and sniffled. 'That's right. Kuromi, I didn't show myself to you so you can grovel and cry.' A large, two-tailed fox appeared in front of her. He was completely white except for the dark blue markings around his torso and tails. They were in the same design as her cheek paint was. She wiped her eyes again and looked at him. 'If you want to know why he lied to you and is attacking the Seireitei with Aizen, then you need to confront him about it. Don't just cry about it!' His voice was deep and dark, but his golden eyes had a sort of comforting factor to them. The young woman nodded and seemed to understand. 'Don't just nod! Tell me you'll do it. You know for a fact I am here to give you a hand when and if you need it.' He sounded like a parent almost. Since she was young, he always took the time to toughen her up and made her more confident. He just couldn't give her that praise that she craved. He didn't think it would be right. She nodded again and seemed more determined. "I will! And if it comes down to it...I'll ask you for help, Usaiga." The fox smirked slightly before disappearing into her zanpakutou.

She peaked out of her hiding spot before her ears began twitching again. It just got to sunrise and there were already people fighting? She had to make this quick. She walked about carefully, making sure not to find someone willing to pick a fight even with comrades. She wasn't looking for a fight with them. There was just one person she needed to find. She wasn't going to fight anyone else but him. She glanced around before feeling a hand on her shoulder. She gasped and turned around quickly, a hand already on her zanpakutou's handle. As expected, it was the only one who would touch her in such a friendly manner. "Oh, so prepared to fight already. Don't tell me the others have gotten to you." Gin's grin was ever present on his face. But Kuromi refused to smile and felt pain when she looked at his face. She kept her hand at the ready as she stared at him. He tilted his head before chuckling. "What's wrong? Cat got yer tongue?" He still smiled, but after another round of her glaring at him, he finally frowned. He sighed before shaking his head. "Well ain't this annoying? We never meant for ya to hear that conversation last night, Kuromi-chan. It'd be a great surprise for ya, now wouldn't it?" He asked, though he knew she would just be silent. "Shut up! You're going against the seireitei in a selfish attempt to be on top! I'm not gonna forgive you!" She drew her zanpakutou and pointed it at him.

Now this was a little unsuspected. They had always been good friends since she had joined the 10th Division. Their friendship was a little rocky when she was in the Shin'o Academy, but he didn't think it was all mean and maliciousness. He just teased her and said what he said to make her more determined. But to finally see the day that she would draw her sword against him...that was a day he hoped never came. "Are ya sure ya want to do this, little fox?" He asked as he drew his own and pointed it towards her. She huffed, but never let up her stance. She was very serious about this. "Whatever you say." He sighed and flash-stepped behind her. She blocked his blow with her sword before flash-stepping a good distance from him. "You've gotten better at it, I see." He smiled at her as he praised her development. But she refused to acknowledge it and kept her stance. She knew that if she were to really be a match, she'd need to release her zanpakutou. She took a deep breath before glaring at him. "Allow me your help, Usaiga." Her sword actually grew longer, almost as tall as she was. The blade turned into a jade color with separated segments on the blade. It looked as if it were made out of the precious stone it's colored after. The hilt's leaf vines wrapped over her hand loosely, like a fencing sword's guard. It wouldn't allow her to switch hands, but she didn't need to.

"Oh, so that's what it looks like. Impressive." Gin smiled at her before she dashed towards him. Before she hit him, she flash-stepped out of the way and behind him. He readied to block her attack before looking a bit confused when she disappeared again. She kept doing this, trying to confused him no matter what. "Oh, I get it. You confuse your enemies so you can find a weak spot, then you strike. How clever." He praised again before blocking her final attack. She growled and jumped back from him. He was a taichou and no doubt he would put up a very good fight. "I guess it's my turn then." He pointed his sword at her. "Shoot 'em dead, Shinso." She blinked as his sword actually extended towards her with great speed. She used the blunt side of her sword to get under his blade and lift it up. "Quicker than I thought, too." He chuckled as his sword retracted back.

The two exchanged blows, mostly blocking each others attacks. It was clear than neither wanted to hurt the other. Not to say their clothes weren't getting cut or anything. Kuromi panted slightly as she glared at him. He was fine, not even breaking a sweat. She squeezed the handle of her sword before running towards him. He was a little surprised. She didn't even flash-step away. He lifted his sword and blocked the blow, but she didn't move anywhere else. She pushed against his zanpakutou, which he was also doing, making their weapons locked in a stalemate. She growled as she tried to push against him, but her efforts were useless. "Dammit..." She muttered, making him tilt his head. "Why..." "Why what?" He felt her loosen her grip and actually faltered. "Why did you have to do this...why do you have to be in a Coup with Aizen?" He noticed her voice wavering and finally a little twinkling shine of a tear sliding down her face. "Kuromi..." He sighed before lowering his zanpakutou, making her slump down to her knees. He knelt down in front of her, trying to see her face. "Kuromi-chan, it'll all be clear in due time. But you can still be near me. All you have to do is come with me. I promise you won't get hurt like Momo. Just come with us and I promise it'll be fun. Okay? You'll have a lot more friends and I can even be your personal trainer so you won't suck so much when it comes to fighting." He grinned at her as he patted her head. She raised her head, showing him that she was crying, but looked so tired. "The others...what about Suiren and my friends here?" He sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, they can't come. But you'll see them all again soon. So stop yer cryin' and lets go. We need to do something first." He wiped her eyes and helped her up.

Usaiga had long since gone back to sealed form and she sheathed him afterward. She wasn't sure what anyone would think of her now, but she made her decision. She had to protect him...no matter what. She would follow him anywhere and make sure of it.

Suiren rubbed the scar around her neck a little bit as she walked around the barracks. No one was around at all. Where could they all be? She thought a bit before gasping when she realized what could be going on. "Sokuyoku hill! It must've been moved! No wonder Kuromi's missing!" She could only hope that she wasn't doing something stupid to get herself in trouble. Oh if only she knew the decisions her friend has made. She raced outside and towards the sacred hill to witness the execution. But from all the reiatsu she was feeling, there was no way Kuromi would be the only one that thought of saving Rukia. She cussed under her breath before running quicker. She had to get there to make sure that her taichou was okay and not fighting, either. All this chaos around the seireitei could make anyone crazy. "Just hold on..." She muttered before noticing quite a few bankai being released. Her eyes widened at this. Just what in the world was going on!?


	10. Heartbreak

Nothing made sense to her anymore. Captains were fighting captain...comrades were either dead or close to it...and now from what she could see, the ryoka have managed to botch the entire execution. She couldn't sense Kuromi anywhere, though. Suiren was looking around for her mostly. She knew her taichou was capable and could take care of himself, but Kuromi was the one she was scared for. After seeing all those notes and feeling, maybe, some of the pain that she had felt, she was scared of what could have happened to her. She was hoping so bad that she didn't do something stupid, that she didn't do something she was going to regret. She kept hoping and hoping that her friend didn't do anything like that. She didn't think she could do anything like that. She was innocent, naïve to the world...there was no way she could do something so devastating.

As the woman kept thinking about this, she didn't even think of where she was going or who she was running into. She was fully set on finding Kuromi. So as she bumped into someone and caused them all to fall, she was angry with them, not herself. "What the hell!? Watch where you're going!" "You watch where you're going!" The two stared at each other for a moment before getting up immediately. Suiren reached for her zanpakutou as the bespectacled boy readied his bow. "What are you doing here?! Don't ask me, I asked you first!" They yelled in unison at each other. The only thing different about these ryoka were their clothes! They disguised themselves as shinigami so they could roam freely about in the seireitei. The orange haired one came running and cut them off from each other. "U-Uryu, we can't fight now! We have to get to that hill before anything bad happens!" She spoke up sternly as she looked from both of them. Uryu huffed and lowered his bow, making it disappear. "The hill? Sokuyoku Hill?" Suiren looked at her before lowering her zanpakutou. "Yeah. Our friend, Rukia, is going to get executed. But Ichigo is up there now, making sure she doesn't." The girl smiled at her in a friendly and very happy manner.

Suiren was a little comforted by that smile of hers. It was kind and gentle, but sad too. Like she had been through just as much as her friends had. She glanced off to the side to see if she could sense Kuromi again. But there was still nothing. She frowned a little before sighing. If anything, she was probably unconscious on Sokuyoku Hill. She couldn't handle too much reiatsu in one place. She must have passed out. She decided to follow the small group, introducing herself to them while also glaring at the Quincy. Seriously, that guy was too damn annoying! Always giving her the finger and passing it off by pushing up his glasses. Making comments about her deflecting that arrow into her stomach. God, she just wanted to punch him in his pretty boy face.

As they got up onto the hill, the reiatsu lowered considerably. The fighting must have been over by now. And indeed, when they came to the peak of the hill, the orange haired ryoka was standing there triumphantly. But soon fell back and hit his friend on his head, making him fall in pain. Suiren giggled at that before looking around for her own friend. But there was no sign of her. She frowned at this and tried looking everywhere for her. If she isn't here, then where is she? "Hey, who's that?" Ichigo looked over at the silver haired girl who was looking around frantically. She looked up before blinking and standing up straight. "I'm Suiren Aozora. It's nice to meet you finally, ryoka." She walked over and looked at him. He was pretty much beat to a pulp by this point, but he was so happy. He won against a taichou, she'd be happy to. "My name's Ichigo Kurosaki!" "Ichigo?...Cute name for a grown man." She teased him making him growl and glare at her. "It's not cute!" He went onto saying how his name meant 'young warrior' or something and not 'strawberry' like most thought. She laughed at him either way, though and kept snickering. Now she was the one being a mean jerk. But she tried to make it clear it was all in good spirits. To think she wanted these people arrested because they intruded on the seireitei. But they were just here to save Rukia and they weren't bad at all. She blinked, though and looked around. "Where is Rukia, anyway?" She asked as she looked around. "Renji has her...he's escaping with her in tow." Ichigo explained to her as well as the rest of them. She recognized that name, Renji. He was the fukutaichou of the 6th Division. But where could he be right now?

"Excuse me...but have you seen a white haired girl running around here? She has fox ears and a tail, but other than that, she looks normal. She's a shinigami like me. I was wondering if she came here." Suiren spoke up, pushing the other curiosities aside. Ichigo and the others seemed confused. "Uhm...No. We haven't seen her at all. Why, is she missing?" Orihime was the one to apologize. The woman sighed and looked down. "I guess you could say that...She's never been missing this long before. I don't know where she is or what's going on. But I thought she'd be up here saving Rukia. They were friends, too, you know? I just...I don't know where else to look." She looked truly upset, unlike all the other emotions she had shown them before. "I'm sure she's around somewhere. You just have to keep looking. Maybe she's looking for you, too?" The orangette tilted her head as she smiled kindly at the woman. She wasn't sure how much of that was a lie or if it was comforting, but she really didn't know where this girl could be. She just hoped it comforted the girl for now.

Suiren stood up and placed her hand under the hilt of her zanpakutou. "I'm gonna go look for her, then. She's around here somewhere and she's alone. I need to find her." She smiled at them before hopping off the edge of the cliff, immediately flash-stepping down to one of the buildings, then doing the same the rest of the way. Uryu sighed a bit as he watched. "Hope she finds her in one piece...no doubt those shinigami down there are killing each other because of all of this." He pushed up his glasses again before concentrating on his friend.

**~~*Please oh Please right a review! Cat is threatening you all with not letting the eleventh chapter being released! So one or two reviews would be absolutely fine! We hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and the eleventh should be out when Cat allows it to be -Fox out*~~**


	11. Deception, Disgrace, Regret

**We would like to thank redhat and animegreek123 for reviewing! Here's the eleventh chapter. ~Cat**

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_There was a nip in the air in the seireitei. Autumn leaves were falling and floating through the air as the wind picked up then calmed down. It was the perfect setting for a fall day. A short girl was rushing about the 10th Division's barracks, to and fro plenty of rooms. She seemed excited about something, but whoever saw or passed her by, she would just tell them it was a secret. Curiosity building in the division members, they kept watching her bring decoration after decoration into her room. Although, once she noticed them staring, she made it a point to make it stay a secret. She planted her zanpakutou into the wood and let a sheltering grove of bamboo grow around her path. The members mumbled and talked amongst themselves, wondering what was going on. Rangiku eventually came around and tried to peek in. "Now what's going on in there?" She wondered to herself as she tried to peek through the bamboo. But the bamboo was stiff and wouldn't let anyone look. She pouted and folded her arms. She had to wait like everyone else. But as soon as she came, the bamboo went away. "Come on, come on! It's all set up now!" The white haired girl waved them inside and even her taichou walked in to see what was going on. Everyone was a little surprised. Kuromi managed to actually clean her room and set up little Halloween decorations in her room, even if it was nowhere close to that holiday. "What's going on?" "Look at the jack-o-lanterns!" Rangiku cooed as she looked at them. They weren't expertly carved but they looked so cute!_

_Kuromi smiled at her taichou as her tail wagged. "It's a birthday party to me! But right now, it's everyone's party!" She explained as other shinigami ate the snacks and played a few of the games she set up. Rangiku and Toshiro looked around, surprised she was actually excited for her birthday. "I thought you couldn't remember." Rangiku poked her nose in suspicious. She rubbed her nose but still grinned. "I don't~ But when I woke up from my coma, I decided that this day would be my birthday." She nodded before going over to explain a game to a group. "Well, it is amazing, isn't it? She set all this up by herself." Rangiku mused as she went to get the drinks. Toshiro sighed a little bit. People born in the Rokungai never really cared much for birthdays. But here she was, making the most of it while it lasted. It was like she was going to die the next day or something. "Did we miss the party?" Toshiro, Rangiku, and Kuromi looked over, seeing Kira and Gin in the doorway. "You made it!" Kuromi sounded more excited as she ran over and greeted them. "You didn't miss it at all. There's still food and drinks left! And plenty of games." She nodded as she walked them in. Toshiro wasn't too happy to see Gin here, but he couldn't just kick him out. In fact, he just stayed away from everything altogether. He wasn't the type to really have fun it seemed. Gin hung around Kuromi the most, though, as did Rangiku. They seemed more than happy to be here. It seemed like this was the happiest day of Kuromi's short life. _

Gin was the one to walk forward and lean down towards her a bit. "Hello, Momo." He greeted her, still grinning. Before she could react or scream for help, he managed to calm her down and keep her from doing that. "I just want to show you something." He told her before waving Kuromi over. She nodded and stood by his side. "Oh, Kuromi's here, too." The girl felt a little bit eased up. She was always so nice and playful. It couldn't be that bad with her around. She followed after them towards one of the surrounding buildings. "This is...the Seijoto Kyorin, the immaculate tower grove where the 46 live. Why did you bring me here, Ichimaru-taichou?" She wondered as she followed after him. "Have you ever been here before, Momo?" Gin asked her as he and Kuromi walked inside the building. "Of course not, this place is strictly off-limits. I've never been here before." She answered. "Well, there's someone I brought you here to see." Momo was more than confused, but he never faltered in his smiling. Kuromi was a little confused too, until she started to get her anxiety and fear back. Oh no...She looked over as Gin told her to turn around and there he was in the doorway. "A-Aizen...taichou?" Momo was shocked to see him unlike her comrade. Kuromi took a step behind Gin, just to make sure she was safe. He placed a hand on her head to keep her from getting too scared.

"How are you, Momo?" He asked as he just stood there. "Is that...really you, Aizen-taichou?" She took a step forward, still not believing what she saw before her. "I...I thought you were dead..." Kuromi wasn't sure how much of this she could watch. She knew that something bad would happen to the poor girl and she knew she couldn't do a thing about it. She was useless again. She bit her lip and hid herself behind Gin as her ears folded in shame. "I'm alive, as you can see. I'm sorry, you must have been heartbroken." He had that soft look about his face, like he actually did care. Kuromi didn't want to listen to any more of this. She just wanted this to stop. She may have disagreed with Hinamori a lot but...she didn't want this to happen to her. She heard sobbing next and at that moment, even her own heart shattered. Just how evil was that man? He manipulated her, lied to her...now he was acting innocent. Like he wasn't doing a single thing wrong. "Thank you, Momo...our time together was a joy to me. Thank you very much." Kuromi flinched as she heard the terrible sound of a sword cutting into flesh. "Goodbye." She then heard a thump, not sure if it was Momo's body or her own heart beating all too quickly.

"Let's go, Gin. Bring her, too." Aizen told him as he walked towards the door. "Yes, Aizen-taichou." Gin grinned down at Kuromi and walked ahead of her. She followed, trying her hardest to not look at Momo's fallen body. As they walked outside, Toshiro was waiting for them, but he seemed to just have gotten there. He was panting and seemed out of breath. Kuromi looked at him, but for some reason, felt the courage to not hide from him. If anything...to her, he was the one who never encouraged her to get stronger than she was before. He always yelled at her for having her fun and didn't give her ways of motivation. But...he was still her taichou, she didn't have harsh feelings towards him...not towards anyone. "Gin and...Aizen?" "Hello, Toshiro." He greeted him, but his smile was dark and his eyes darker. He wasn't the Aizen everyone came to know and respect. "It's really you?" "Of course, in the flesh. But never mind..." He didn't look at Gin or anything. "Toshiro is back sooner than expected." "Forgive me, Izuru must have failed." Even Kuromi was confused. She knew there was meticulous planning put into this but...to actually use his own fukutaichou as a decoy? Why? Toshiro finally noticed his own Subordinate next to Gin, and his eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean? What' going on?" "Don't you know? Tactics of course. Divide and Conquer is the best way to destroy the enemy." Kuromi didn't even see his face and she was getting more and more scared. This man truly frightened her...

"Where's Momo?" "Don't you know?" Toshiro gritted his teeth before running past them and into the room. His eyes widened once more as he saw Momo on the ground in a pool of her own blood. "Poor Momo...How unfortunate you found her. I should have chopped her up...and hidden the pieces." Kuromi's heart kept thumping against her chest as she listened to all of this. Toshiro's hand twitched as he heard that. "Aizen...Gin...Kuromi...How long have you three been conspiring?" He asked, not sounding happy, but not sounding angry either. "Kuromi just decided to join in...But we've been planning this since the beginning." "Since before you faked your death, Aizen?" He shook his head and looked at him, still having that uncaring look on his face. "You catch on slowly. From the beginning. Since I became a taichou, I never considered anyone to be my fukutaichou but Gin. And Kuromi, my guard dog." First she was just a failed experiment, now she was a guard dog? What was she to him exactly? She didn't know, but right now, she couldn't think too much about it. "Then...this whole time you were...Momo...me...all the shinigami that served under you...even Kuromi's memories...You were just deceiving and toying with us all!?" Toshiro's temper was slowly rising as he realized what Aizen had done to everyone and how devastating all this was.

"I never thought of it that way...truth is...none of you even recognized my true identity. Kuromi was the only to be right about being scared of me. You should have listened some more." The girl froze up as she felt his hand on her head. But she refused to shake or show any sort of fear anymore. She was doing all this for Gin. So she had to be brave and she had to be strong. She couldn't be afraid anymore. "So you blame us!? How could you be so cruel!? You know Momo joined the Gotei 13 for you. She worked so hard just so she could serve under you!" If only Toshiro knew the full extent of his cruelty. "Yes that is true...which made her quite easy to manipulate. That's why I requested her for my Division." Toshiro was in disbelief. Why would he want her in his Division if he didn't even care for her? "It was too good to pass up. Remember, Toshiro...Adoration is the state furthest from understanding." Toshiro snapped at the remark.

Kuromi's ears twitched before they jumped out of the way from the loud crash that came towards them. They landed safely away from the mess, but she noticed just how cold it was in here. "Bankai...Daiguren Hyorinmaru" They saw ice wings flex out before folding slightly over Toshiro. His arm was completely covered in ice, even looking like a dragon. There were three petal flowers behind him as he glared at all three of them. A cold air rushed towards Aizen, meaning that the young boy had him in his sights. "Aizen...I'm going to kill you!" Aizen just kept that empty smirk on his face before looking at him in the eye. "You shouldn't make such rash threats...it makes you sound weak." He mocked making the white haired boy lunge at him. Kuromi looked away when she saw the brunette haired man get the advantage and sliced Toshiro down his right shoulder. Blood sprayed out as his ice bankai shattered and he fell. Aizen took the time to actually...admire the scenery. "This is magnificent...it's the wrong season, but I like to see ice this time of year." He turned to face them, still smiling. "Well then, shall we?" Before they could even get out of the area, two more people came in to confront them.

"I thought you'd be here, Aizen-taichou...no...I won't call you 'taichou' anymore. You're just Sosuke Aizen...the traitor." The taichou of the 4th Division walked in with her fukutaichou following after. They didn't seem happy at all. "Hello, Unohana-taichou. It's about time you showed up. Did it take you this long to figure out where I was?" He wondered as he faced her. "The Seijoto Kyorin is the only place in the seireitei that is absolutely off-limits. And the perfect place for someone who had gone to such great pains to fake his own death...even constructing that elaborate doll...to conceal himself." Aizen gave a short chuckle. "Almost...You deduced well, but you made two mistakes. First, I didn't come here to hide. And Second...this isn't a doll." He held up an exact copy of himself, the same one that Kuromi didn't believe was the actual Aizen. And she was right to think so. She was surprised that she was the only one to actually deduce that. How could that be? There had to be someone who realized it...but she was hoping for a snowball's chance in hell. "W-When did he?" They seemed more than surprised to see that he had the 'doll' in his hands. "When? I had it in my hands the entire time...but until now, I never let you see it." They were still so confused, even Kuromi was. "You'll understand soon enough. Watch...Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu." The seemingly perfect doll shattered, only revealing his zanpakutou. He dropped it to the ground making it stick into the ground. He went onto explaining just how this Zanpakutou worked, considering that Unohana's fukutaichou was confused and even his guard dog was confused. "In short, once someone sees the released form's spell, they will always fall for it. But it won't work if someone has never seen it...say a blind person. And from the beginning...Kaname Tosen has been working for me." He smirked. Another taichou in the Seireitei...

Kaname Tosen was a blind man, but he made it to taichou level for the 9th Division. He may have been blind, but he could definitely fight...and like many others here, he had a very strong sense of justice. But that's what confused Kuromi the most. If he was so set on justice, then why did he work for Aizen? Even she thought he would do the right thing, even the most just of taichous seemed to follow him. She could only hope there were no more people involved in this. She stood close by them as Gin unraveled a transportation spell. "A word of praise before I go...aside from Kuromi, you're the only one to examine the body so thoroughly that even under the spell, you had your suspicions. It's remarkable, Unohana-taichou. Goodbye...I doubt I'll ever see any of you again." He left them with that as they were transported to the Sokyoku Hill.

As she ran through the streets, Suiren couldn't help but feel all the sudden bursts of reiatsu going on around her. But there were more than a few far off near the Central 46. She couldn't help but feel worried about that place the most. After all, no one ever went near that place, not even for a simple question. She began heading towards there before blinking as Rangiku landed in front of her, looking worried and out of breath. "Suiren...something bad's happened..." She told her and before she could even explain what happened, a voice started speaking around them. It was the fukutaichou of Division 4, Isane Kotetsu. "Hear my words...This is an urgent message from Retsu Unohana of Division 4 and myself. What I'm about to tell you is the truth..." She went onto explaining what happened to the central 46, what was going on right now, who got hurt, and who the traitors were. Suiren couldn't believe her ears. How could her friend be apart of them? She hated Aizen...she was so scared of him! Was it...all just an act? She scowled and gripped her hand into a fist. "There's no way taichou lost...Come on Suiren!" Rangiku nudged her out of it and started to dash towards the Sokyoku Hill.

"Kuromi wouldn't do something like this...She wouldn't hurt a fly even if it landed on her food! How could she join up with someone she's deathly afraid of?" Suiren spoke to herself as she followed Rangiku. The strawberry-blonde woman looked back at her and sighed. She knew exactly why Kuromi had joined up with them. Suiren just didn't think too hard about it. "You've never noticed, huh?" She asked, making the silver haired woman look up in confusion. "She adores Gin in every way. She wouldn't hurt him, but she knows Aizen would. She's so set on keeping him safe that she's putting herself through this." Rangiku explained to her, amazingly finding the answer quicker than her subordinate did. Suiren thought back to the papers she found in her room and looked down slightly. She was lonely. Whenever she found out that Gin was a traitor, she knew she would be devastated and be more lonely. She thought she had no choice but to follow. So in reality, Kuromi already made up her mind long before any of this happened. Suiren never bothered to talk to her about anything, though. They were just doing things that came to mind, like bothering their taichou or just going to random meetings with the clubs. They never once talked to each other about their pasts or how they felt. It was just an unspoken taboo. Kuromi never asked about the scar on Suiren's neck, and the silver haired woman never pried deep into the girl's amnesia or how she felt about herself. That was one of the many mistakes they both made. "Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault she did this." Her superior added as she kept looking ahead. She looked down slightly and nodded in understanding. Even if she knew this before hand...she doubted she could change her friend's mind.

Kuromi watched as her comrades fell at the hand of Aizen. Renji a red haired, hardheaded boy, laid a few feet from the orange haired ryoka she tried to wake up earlier. Seeing him take care of them so easily, though...it struck fear into her once more. Sure, Gin tried to keep her from freaking out too much, but it was clear that even he couldn't sooth the girl now. She wanted so bad to run out and save her friend, Rukia, but she was frozen. She couldn't move even if she wanted to. She looked at the vial in his hand before it burst open and turned his hand into something strange. It didn't look like wood or any sort of element at all, but when he hit Rukia's chest, a large gaping hole was made. Her eyes widened as he actually pulled something out. She was sure it was her heart or something, but what she saw was just a little sphere. "Amazing...something so small...so this is the Hogyoku." He was fascinated by the object, but didn't care that the black haired girl fell to the ground.

Kuromi didn't understand entirely what the Hokyoku was. She knew it was powerful and could create things...almost as if it were a philosopher's stone for alchemy. But she wasn't sure and didn't want to know. She was worried about her friend. "Hm, the Konpaku itself is undamaged. Amazing technology." Konpaku was the vessel that carried the Hogyoku. It turns out a banished Shinigami called 'Kisuke Urahara' hid it in her friend. "Unfortunately, you are of no used to me any longer." He lifted Rukia up again by the collar around her neck. "Kill her, Gin." Kuromi's eyes widened before looking at Gin. "Shoot to kill, Shinso." "You promised you wouldn't!" Kuromi unsheathed her sword and was ready to redirect the hit before noticing Rukia had disappeared. She looked closer and noticed that her older brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, had grabbed her and taken the hit. He soon collapsed, though. He looked so bloody, just what happened to him? She glanced at the man next to her, though and frowned a little. He nearly killed her friend...she never expected him to do anything like that. Just what did Aizen train him to do?

Aizen was ready to finished them off before being stopped by Yoruichi and Soi Fon. Both of which are or were Division 2's taichous. "You so much as twitch a finger and we slice your head off." Yoruichi threatened him as she glared. Although, the three giants that protect the gate suddenly showed up, minus Jidanbo. Kuromi gulped a bit as she watched, only to cringe a few times at the loud noises, even when two of them were knocked out by Jidanbo who showed up with Kukkaku Shiba, another notable face around the seireitei. "That must've hurt, what shall we do?" Gin smiled at Kuromi before seeming surprised when Rangiku grabbed hold of his wrist and held her zanpakutou to his neck. "Rangiku?" Kuromi wondered where she came from before she felt a hand grab her tail and cold steel against her neck. "Don't you dare move, I'll give you a nasty scar like mine." She heard Suiren's voice and felt like crying, but she stayed strong and stood straight. "Sorry, Aizen-taichou. We've been caught." Gin apologized, seeing no use in fighting them off.

"It's over Aizen. You're surrounded." Yoruichi stated as all the taichou and fukutaichou surrounded the four traitors. But the brunette man just smiled and gave a small chuckle. Kuromi's ears began to twitch as she heard a faint trace of reiatsu. But it wasn't from any of the surrounding shinigami. No...it was coming from above? "What? What's so funny, Aizen?" The black haired woman asked him, not enjoying any sort of games at all. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's time." Her eyes widened as he said that before telling Soi Fon to get back. They both jumped back as a bright yellow beam surrounded him. Everyone looked up, seeing a crack in the sky where the beam was coming from. "What...what the hell?" One of the taichou said in disbelief as they watched the sky crack open. A clawed hand ripped through and before they knew it, a pack of Menos Grande, large and more powerful forms of hollows, appeared inside the crack. "Menos Grande!?" "H-How many are there...no...there's something behind them, too!" A large yellow eye slowly opened behind the pack of Menos. By now, Kuromi's ears were going wild from all the reiatsu she felt from the pack. How in the world did this man manage to force Menos Grande to be his allies?

Three more lights shot down, engulfing Tosen, Gin, and Kuromi in the yellow lights. Suiren, Shuuhei, and Rangiku all jumped back out of the beams line of fire. Kuromi glanced back at her friend before looking forward again. "Please, just forget about me. Don't even realize I existed at all." She told her, trying to sound as cold as possible. But her voice was breaking, no matter how hard she tried. The ground cracked and rose beneath them, carrying them up towards the Garganta in the sky. "You can't escape! Stop!" One of the fukutaichou tried to attack Aizen, but before he could, the Head Taichou stopped him. "That beam of light is called 'Negacion'. It's what the Menos use to rescue one another. As soon as that light envelops something, it's all over. Anybody who's fought a Menos knows that as soon as that light came down, Aizen was out of our reach." The old man explained, making everyone realize that they could do nothing to stop them.

There was a shifting before a large orange and white Wolf man burst out of the rubble. His name was Sajin Komamura, Taichou of the 7th Division. "Tosen!" He yelled, bloody from an attack Aizen pulled on him. "Come back down, Tosen! Why!? Why did you become a Shinigami!? Wasn't it for your dead friend!? Wasn't it to uphold justice!? Where has your sense of justice gone!?" The man yelled to his friend who was already long gone. He was set in his ideals, just like the rest of them. "I told you Komamura. I follow the path least soaked in blood. Justice is always there. The path I walk is justice." Tosen retorted. Gin glanced over to Kuromi, who was in tears by this time. She tried so hard to keep strong and look like this wasn't affecting her, but in reality...it was tearing her heart apart. Suiren just glared up at them, not caring if those Menos were saving them or not. She wanted to get her friend back. She had to get her friend back, no matter what. "You joined forces with the Menos...Why?" Another taichou spoke up. Jushiro Ukitake was the taichou of Division 13. He had long grey hair, but despite that, he looked young. He was angry now, though, but he always used to smile so happily. "To reach greater heights." Aizen put simply. "Have you fallen so far, Aizen?" The white haired man questioned with a glare. "Don't kid yourself, Ukitake. No one ever stood atop the heavens before. Not you or I...or the Gods..." The brunette took off his glasses and slicked back his hair, one strand of his bangs hanging down. "But the unbearable vacancy of Heaven's throne ends now. From now on..." He crushed his glasses almost into dust with a single finger. "I will stand atop the Heavens." He smirked as he looked down on everyone and added, "Goodbye Shinigami...Goodbye ryoka boy...You were interesting for a human." And with that, the Garganta shut closed, not allowing any of them to see where the four had gone.


End file.
